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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 timeOn 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

Food prepared at Community Centre

Seeds of HopeFebruary 2015

Mission Without Borders1-800-494-4454 | www.mwbca.orgemail: dinwood@mwbi.org

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“Had we not had the garden, we would have starved, really. These are hard times for everyone, especially for unemployed people in rural areas.”

children’s allowances and the mother’s pension, which together, add up to less than [the equivalent of] $160 per month. This amount covers the monthly utilities and very basic food supplies such as bread, sugar, flour or the extravagant cooking oil. They have inside water and electricity, and they are used sparingly as they can barely afford them. Were it not for Seeds of Hope their situation would be truly desperate.Life did not always seem so hard. Mr Rajic used to work in construction; he planned their home and built it himself little by little. In addition to the kitchen, bathroom and three rooms on the first floor, the house was meant to have another 4 rooms upstairs. They only use the first floor and the exterior still needs work. It is an unfinished project with lots of improvisations or patch-ups. Due to their hard circumstances it is clear he will need help if he is ever to finish the house for his family.During the fall they were all busy making preserves. With the children’s help, they made jams and fruit preserves. Some vegetables were stored in cool places while others were frozen.“Had we not had the garden, we would have starved, really. These are hard times for everyone, especially for unemployed people in

rural areas. You have what you grow and everything else is scarce. Every little lei (Romanian currency) is treasured and used for basic things. The seeds are not expensive separately, but together, the whole batch would have been too expensive for us to buy. We worked hard for ourselves and to show our sponsors that their support is much appreciated. God provided good rain this spring and summer and we were

1-800-494-4454 | www.mwbca.org

grateful every time we went to the garden and came inside with a full basket of vegetables. We are so very grateful for our stocked pantry. We know that in the long winter days we will have food.”Multiply this story thousands of times across Eastern Europe and you see how critically important Seeds of Hope is. It feeds the families, creates self respect, helps to bind families and even is often a source of badly needed income.We need to continue to grow this program and ask your help to do that. For only $25 you can buy a Seeds of Hope parcel that will feed an entire family all through the winter; $100 will buy 5 parcels.Please buy this gift of life and hope for as many families as you can.May the harvest be great for all those who “planted a seed” for His glory!

Blessings

David InwoodNational Director

PS: Have you considered leaving a gift for MWB in your will? Please call us; we would be pleased to discuss this in confidence with you.

Prayer GuideWe invite you to look at our prayer guide. You can find it on our website at http://www.mwbca.org/get-involved/ Look under the Prayer team entry.

Do you live in Abbotsford and area and like to volunteer?We need some help doing general office work, a little computer stuff. There is nothing complicated, some of it can even be done on your home computer. We also need a little help in receiving, sorting and packing donations. No heavy work is involved. If you’re interested please call and speak to either David or Bonnie. We’d love to hear from you.

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