F er F Untitled-1 1 11-01-04 10:13 AM P.O. Box 2007, Abbotsford, BC V2T 3T8 As you look out your window and see the harshness of winter all around you (except coastal BC of course) spare a thought for the folks in Eastern Europe already deep into what promises to be a brutally cold winter. December through February is expected to be one of the coldest winters since 1981, according to local forecasts. As an organization working with over 400 churches in the region during the last 55 years, MWB is on the ground and sees firsthand how difficult life is for so many people. Many thousands lack warm winter clothing, can’t afford to heat their homes (often a one or two room shed or shack) and go hungry. What a brutal lifestyle for many, freeze or starve. A vital part of our program is Seeds of Hope. For the past 5 years each spring we have distributed boxes of seeds, along with gardening tools and training where needed, enabling thousands of families to grow their own food. Not only does this give them good, healthy food all through the winter but many are also able to sell some of their produce to help buy winter clothing and heating fuel. With Seeds of Hope the lifestyle need no longer be freeze or starve. Throughout Eastern Europe many families have to rely on themselves or organizations like ours for their food. In Bulgaria 64% rely on their own food production to survive. In Romania the figure is 75%. Ask yourself, if you had to rely on yourself to produce your own food, how long would you and your children last? For some families from our program, Seeds of Hope represents the only way to survive and the only motivation to keep going in spite of all their struggles. The Rajic family (not their real name to protect their privacy) was enrolled in our F2F program four years ago. The parents have three daughters and two sons aged 7 to 17. Mr. Rajic works occasionally as a bricklayer and he also works by the day in agriculture. His wife has cervical cancer and has already had an operation to try and stop the progress of the disease. She also has speaking and hearing problems due to a childhood sickness. The father is the one who takes care of the whole family; he is the “mother” and the father in the house. This is the reason that he cannot find a stable job, because he needs to do almost all the house work, cooking, gardening and taking care of the children. Last spring we introduced them to the Seeds of Hope program. Mr. Rajic takes a special pleasure in gardening and he enjoys teaching his children this trade. “We eat from all the vegetables we plant. That’s why it is important for us to have our own vegetables because, in this way, we don’t need to buy too much from the market. We know this is the only way we can survive and we give thanks to God for giving us the strength and the energy to do it.” The moment they received the seeds box, the father said to one of his sons: “David! Bring me the tools! I need to plant this right away!” The child brought his father the rake and the hoe and together with him, started to prepare the ground to plant some spinach. Lidia, the youngest daughter, started to cover the seeds which her father had put in the ground with her own little hands. That moment was very touching; the father and his children working together for their own livelihood. Fast forward to the autumn harvest time On their patch of 1000 square meters the fruits of a summer long effort are there for all to see. From those humble boxes of seeds provided by Mission Without Borders came all this bounty. Their meals are mostly made of the vegetables they grow, cook or can in different ways. Two pigs and some hens provide the meat and the eggs. Their income is made of the Seeds of Hope February 2015 Mission Without Borders 1-800-494-4454 | www.mwbca.org email: [email protected] 67777 MWB Feb NL.indd 1 2015-01-14 1:48 PM