Learning from Life & the Bible January 2013
Dreambus excursions bring a special time of joy to the lives of impoverished children from Children’s Homes and communities in Moldova. Many of them have never experienced such a bus trip and the news that they will go on the Mission Without Borders Dreambus not just for one, two or three hours, but for a whole day is the most exciting news for them. Whilst school excursions and family day outings are common for most children in Australia, in Moldova, this is an opportunity they would otherwise never be able to experience without MWB’s help. The Dreambus excursion is like a rainbow which fills the children’s lives with bright colours and their hearts with cheer. the Children’s Home and only goes to his family’s home for the long summer holidays. Mission Without Borders Dreambus excursion meant a lot to Veaceslav. It was the first time he had been on an excursion by bus. He was very impressed by everything he saw, saying, “I will remember this amazing experience for a very long time, especially the fun we had driving the cars at the Adventure Park. I will be looking forward to seeing my brother and sister and telling them about the amazing time we spent on the Dreambus trip.” Thank you for this super trip! Thanks to the Dreambus project, seven excursions have been carried out during 2012. 317 children enjoyed going to Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova and visiting different places of interest. Recently, 41 children from Hirbovet Children’s Home enjoyed a full day excursion and were amazed by the experience travelling on the wonderful, comfortable Dreambus. Veaceslav Cazacu, in the 6th grade, comes from a vulnerable family and has grown up with just his mother, brother and sister. Veaceslav, who is the eldest child, suffers from hearing problems and is deaf. During the school year, he stays at
Tudor Lastur is in the 9th grade and comes from a family of five children. His mother has gone abroad to Israel and his father is at home. Tudor enjoyed the whole day together with his schoolmates on the Dreambus excursion. “I travel by bus when I go home from school for the holidays, but I was amazed this time to be on such
Veaceslav enjoying the sites
an extraordinary, large and comfortable bus,” said Tudor expressing his amazement about the Dreambus. Tudor pondered about the things he saw from the bus window throughout the whole trip; sites he recognised in the local area around the school and new things further away and in Chisinau city. He also took delight in eating at Andy’s Pizza; it was the first time he had tried pizza! Tudor had great fun at the Adventure Park and watching a movie in 3D at the cinema. Tudor added, “I will never forget this wonderful day! It was super, super, super! I want to thank Mission Without Borders for this excursion from the bottom of my heart.”
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I will never forget this wonderful day! I want to thank Mission Without Borders for this excursion from the bottom of my heart
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Cristina Mihailova is in the 6th grade and is an orphan. Her grandmother takes care of Cristina and her two younger sisters. Her grandmother is old and sick and has a lot of problems in her life, so Cristina has to stay at the Children’s Home during the year. Cristina receives most of the things she needs every day such as clothing, food, shoes, hygienic items and school supplies directly through Mission Without Borders support. During the Dreambus excursion, Cristina’s curiosity to know and see all Tudor (right) & friend at the the details around Adventure Park her was obvious. At the Ethnographic Museum, she was very attentive to the guide’s explanations, looking closely at her face to understand what she was saying. She expressed her impressions about the trip as follows: “Today I had a wonderful day together with my best friend, Elena. The food at Andy’s Pizza was amazing and the film was very funny and interesting. I also learnt and experienced what 3D means. It was extraordinary! I never thought that I would have a day like this during my life, when I would have such a lot of nice surprises. I want to thank all our friends, who think of us and give us such superb gifts, such as the Dreambus excursion.”
Cristina’s first 3D movie
Andy’s Pizza is great The Vice Director of Hirbovet Children’s Home, Mrs Maria Negura, joined the group of children on the Dreambus excursion. She also expressed her amazement about the trip and its impact on the children’s lives, saying, “I am overwhelmed with the joy and the impressions those 41 children from our school received during this amazing trip. It is indeed a great project! It would be great if every child at every Children’s Home could go on a trip like this once a year. The children were looking through the bus windows with so much curiosity! They were amazed by trolleybuses and outstanding buildings in the capital of the country they live in. At the Ethnographic Museum, the children acquired a lot more information about the history and culture of their native country than they would do in ten lessons at school. The children really enjoyed the meals in a nice environment, different to the school canteen. They enjoyed tasting pizza and ice-cream, which most had never tried before. On behalf of all the children on the trip, I would like to express sincere words of gratitude to Mission Without Borders for the great opportunity they offer these children to go on a wonderful excursion. We applaud all Mission Without Borders supporters for the time we spent today and for a comfortable and safe trip!!”
The Museum is amazing! Indeed, the Dreambus excursion provides a day of fun and relaxation for the children, but at the same time it is a day full of history, culture, aesthetics and moral education. After each Dreambus excursion, the children enjoy their memories from the trip and share their experiences with their friends for many days and even weeks. Praise be to the Lord for making it possible for the children to enjoy the Dreambus excursion, which contributes to the children’s development, improves their spirit and builds in their hearts and minds a store of pleasant memories to treasure for a long time to come. An experience they would otherwise never have.
Bible Jubilee Project
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housands of children in Romania became the happy recipients of free illustrated Bibles through MWB’s Bible Jubilee Project. This proved to be one of the nicest gifts for these children, as many received their very first Bible.
Dorotheea
Esthera
Dorotheea and Esthera Faur are two sisters enrolled in our Child Rescue International (CRI) in Community program. They are both supported by sponsors from Australia. The sisters received a lovely illustrated Bible, which was a great surprise for them. They live with their widowed mother in their aunt’s apartment. Their father passed away about five years ago after suffering a heart attack. Their mother is employed as a salesperson. She and her daughters usually go to “Betania” Baptist Church in Sibiu and their greatest desire is to be true Christians. Dorotheea is 12 years old. After joining the CRI in Community program, she was enrolled in the Bible Correspondence Course and is very keen to answer the questions and to write to the Mission. When Dorotheea and her sister received their Bibles, they were very interested in studying them. They go to Sunday school at Praying with the children the church where they study different topics from the Bible, learn scriptures off by heart and share what they’ve learnt. One Sunday, Esthera and Dorotheea wanted to share a lesson with their class, so they focused on the story of the three young men in Babylon; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Esthera loves this story, because she thinks the three young men were very brave for refusing to bow down to the king’s statue. She learnt that God rewarded their faithfulness by being with them in their time of need. Dorotheea confessed: “From this story, I have learnt that God is merciful towards us and saves us from any trouble we have,
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God will protect us and will save us from any trouble we have.
but we have to listen to Him. We shouldn’t do anything wrong or do what other people tell us to do who are not Christians. We should only do what God tells us to do and this way, God will protect us and Presenting the lesson will save us from any trouble we have. I also learnt that God is faithful and that He rewards our obedience and faithfulness. So, if we obey Him, He is righteous and doesn’t let us down.” Dorotheea also encouraged the children to pray for themselves, for their families and friends and to be good examples in their community so that other people will see them as lights. This is also her desire; to live her life as the three young people did. Even though the two girls are at a young age, they have learnt a good lesson from the Bible and have applied it to their lives. Sharing this lesson with the other children was very encouraging not only for the class, but also for us, as we see the fruits of our work and ministry. May God bless all the children who received Bibles through the MWB Bible Jubilee Project and help them to read the Word of God and to live out what they learn from it! Our Bible Jubilee Project has had a tremendous impact in all areas of our ministry and will continue to bring souls, young and old, to Jesus Christ and to the Kingdom of God. Our ministry to children involves meeting their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. When young lives in Eastern Europe are broken by poverty, neglect, dysfunctional families and tragedy our ministries are The Illustrated Children’s Bible of the most urgent nature. MWB is making a huge difference in the lives of vulnerable children, restoring hope to them in knowing that there are people who care about them and that there is a Great Saviour in Jesus Christ, who loves them with an unfailing love. Will you join with us this month as you pray and give of your resources to ensure that our vital ministry to the needy of Eastern Europe continues to win young lives like Dorotheea and Esthera to Jesus? We certainly do appreciate your continued support and prayers as you partner with us to see the Kingdom of God flourish in Eastern Europe.
‘Gift in Kind – Operation Cover Up’ Update Attention Melbourne GIK supporters: Just a reminder that our Workshop in Dandenong will be closed during January. The first day back for receiving and packing your items will be Friday 8th February 9.30am - 3.30pm. Attention Adelaide GIK Supporters: Mrs Leila Lydeamore, our Adelaide Collection Point contact, is unavailable to receive your items until March 2013, as she needs time to recover from recent surgery. Please hold onto your items until this time, or send them to our Sydney office. We are excited to see what our Lord has in store for MWB with this New Year. We appreciate and welcome your continued support as we share the love of Jesus with the people of Eastern Europe through our Operation Cover-up project. NOTE: Please DO NOT send SECOND HAND or USED clothing items to us. We are unable to send these to our field countries, due to customs regulations we must adhere to.
What is needed – Updated list!!! Knitted, Crocheted and Handmade items: • Knitting patterns are available - contact our office or visit our website www.mwb.org.au if you would like some guidance and ideas. • Blankets • The minimum size our field countries have requested for knitted or crocheted blankets is approximately 160cm x 140cm (can be knitted by: 4mm (size 8) needles, 8-ply yarn, 40 stitches x 80 rows to make 56 squares) • If you are only able to knit/crochet smaller blankets, then they could be joined together with other small blankets to make a larger blanket. Knit/crochet small blankets measuring 80cm x 80cm-four of these can then be joined together to make a large 160cm square blanket. • If you are only confident to knit squares (20cm x 20cm), we would love your involvement. Squares can be given to us to be joined into blankets by others or they are sent
Coordinators and Collection Points Please contact our office, or the nearest collection point listed below, to organise getting your donated goods to us in Sydney or Melbourne.
to our field countries to be sewn together into blankets by the ladies who attend our Community Centres and children in our Vocational Training projects. • Patchwork quilts and polar fleece blankets. • Scarves, gloves, mittens and bed socks. • Beanies- for adults and children (at 2 years old, a child’s head size is the same as an adults). • Knitted Teddy Bears • Jumpers – older children, teenagers and adult sizes are in greatest need. Patterns with a crew neck are most appropriate for the climate. • We cannot accept “Aids Baby Jumpers”. • All items for sewing, embroidery, knitting and craft activities - Fabric, wool, cottons, needles etc. (for the Vocational Training courses; for poor families and elderly who would love to sew or knit for themselves but cannot afford the materials).
David Turner is the Australia-wide Coordinator
Sydney Office: 10 Stubbs Street, AUBURN NSW 2144 PO Box 7533 SILVERWATER NSW 1811 Phone: (02) 9647 2022 Email: dturner@mwbi.org
South Australia - Leila Lydeamore 33 Ina Close CRAIGMORE SA 5114 Phone: (08) 8255 0092 Email: leila@chariot.net.au Tasmania - Carlene Irwin 114 Sheffield Rd SPREYTON TAS 7310 Phone: (03) 6427 3113 Western Australia - Debbi Wilson Unit 4/110 Matheson Road APPLECROSS WA 6153 Phone: (08) 9316 2466 or 0417 926 695 Email: deb7543@gmail.com Please Note: Deliveries can only be made on weekends and weeknight evenings. Please phone first to arrange a suitable time.
Jenny Grainger is our Victorian Coordinator: 3 Exner Drive DANDENONG NORTH VIC 3175 Phone: (03) 9795 6141 Email: jenn.mwbvic@internode.on.net Workshop: 8 Birch Avenue DANDENONG NORTH VIC 3175
Open Fridays 9am- 3.30pm. Saturdays 10am -2pm (except VIC School Holidays).
VICTORIA -Geelong - John & Hermina Thierry 24 Coulter Street NEWCOMB VIC 3219 Phone: (03) 5248 7437 or 0407 502 733 ACT - Christine Bollen 2 Barron Street DEAKIN ACT 2600 Phone (02) 6282 2210 Email: bollens@netspeed.com.au QUEENSLAND - Brisbane - Elize Du Preez
Contact after 4:30pm weekdays or on weekends to make delivery arrangements.
Deliveries: 14 St Ives Circuit FOREST LAKE QLD 4078 Postal address: PO BOX 4672 FOREST LAKE QLD 4078 Phone: 0439 696 837 Email: figaroe@bigpond.com
Street Address: 10 Stubbs Street AUBURN NSW 2144 Opening Hours: 9am-5pm Monday-Friday Postal Address: PO BOX 7533 SILVERWATER NSW 1811
www.mwb.org.au
Phone: (02) 9647 2022
Email: australia@mwbi.org