Family Coordinator Iurie recalls the news and weather forecast for most of Moldova on the radio as he was driving to visit a particular family in need last November:

“Get ready for winter! The temperatures will fall to minus 17 C next week!”

This news is unsettling for everyone, the bitter cold is unwelcomed even by those who can afford to stay warm, but Iurie was most afraid for the hundreds of families that are condemned to freeze if they don’t receive help. Their greatest challenge is to survive the winter and make it to spring, although a very sad reality is that too often there are some who don’t make it. The first snowfall of the season is usually received with great joy by all the children, because it means lots of fun and sledding with friends. Unfortunately whilst the snow is beautiful to look at and a lot of fun for some, the reality is for many parents of children in Eastern Europe, it is a deathly worry.

The Bujac’s are a family of 6. The five children and their mother Svetlana live in Chisinau, the most developed city in the country of Moldova, but where there are still many poor people that survive only by God’s mercy.

They were a happy and loving family with a caring mother and a hard-working father who was doing his best to provide for his children. Although they didn’t have everything they wanted, they were joyful and united - nothing seemed to disturb their peace…until their father suffered his first drug overdose. From that day on, nothing was the same. A few months later he started selling everything they had at home to finance his once secret drug addiction and refused to go to work. Svetlana recounts:

“Those times where extremely difficult. I was pregnant and couldn’t find a job. There were days when we went to bed hungry and I was afraid my children would get ill. When I gave birth to David, my husband’s addiction became uncontrollable and, in order to protect my children I had to choose between him and them. I didn’t want my children to be traumatized so I decided to ask him to leave. Of course, he didn’t want to and I had to call the police. It’s still sad for me to remember that day, but I know that it was the right decision.”

A LOVE SO B IG IT SAVES L IVES

Can you help a family stay warm and survive their harshest winter?

Please give to Operation Winter Rescue today!

David is now one year old and is the most energetic and friendly child of his age that our MWB staff have ever met. Nastea (5) and Iana (4) attend the kindergarten and are smart and happy girls. The boys, Alexandru (17) and Denis (13) are both fond of horse riding. They have been practicing this sport for years and have received many medals and awards from competing in competitions.

The family have struggled to make ends meet for quite some time, but recently, Svetlana was asked to work in the shoemaking workshop where her husband used to work. The hours are long and the work is laborious but she feels blessed to have some money coming in. Victoria (18), her eldest daughter takes care of David during the day and when Denis comes home from school, he looks after the baby and Victoria attends her classes at an evening High School.

The Bujac family live in one room of a house owned by Svetlana’s siblings who took them in when her husband left. Winter is a huge struggle. They face many problems, but the greatest is keeping warm. Heating and winter clothes for all the children are a great stress for Svetlana. All the children wear old sport shoes even through winter because they can’t afford to buy warmer boots. Often when they come home their feet are wet and cold and it takes hours to warm them up.

“The thought of the impending winter scares me. I didn’t know where to find firewood or how to heat our house. The older children and I had made a plan to go through rubbish bins to take home things we could burn, but there wasn’t much around.”

Operation Winter Rescue saves the lives of thousands of children, families and the elderly in Eastern Europe. As they receive warm clothing, boots, firewood and blankets, their hearts are warmed also with the love of Jesus Christ.

Please support Operation Winter Rescue 2015. Your gift will save lives!$60 provides a month of firewood.

$100 equals 4 months of heating (gas/electricity) for a family in Moldova.$500 gives a family of 5 warm clothing to keep them from freezing.

$1000 will heat a Children’s Home in Ukraine caring for 200 children for 1 month.

Like the cold of snow in time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send Him,

For He refreshes the soul of His masters. Proverbs 25:13

Mission Without Borders came to their aid and brought enough bags of sawdust briquettes to help them through the winter. Coordinator, Iurie, shared his thoughts about this family:

“I am very happy we had the opportunity to help them. They are indeed special. There are many people that face problems but give up and don’t do anything to survive. Many of them try to ‘drown their grief’ in alcohol and die of hypothermia. The Bujac family is an example of endless courage. They will, for sure, remember this Christmas and I truly hope that during our time spent with them, they will give their life to Jesus Christ. I ask you all to pray for this.”

Our team had a blessed afternoon with this family, and when they were about to leave, Iurie asked the children what they would like for Christmas. He was almost certain the answer would be “sweets and toys” but what they said astonished the team.

“Maybe many children want candies and toys for Christmas, but our dream is to have a bathroom inside the house”. The lesson learnt that day was priceless. While many of us forget to thank the Lord for the comfort items we have in our home, there are millions of children that pray for running water, heating, a piece of bread and a simple bathroom.

The Operation Winter Rescue project gives love and warmth to those in need. It also warms our hearts to hear stories like this.

MISSIONWITHOUTBORDERSAUSTRALIA PO 7533 Silverwater NSW 1811 | 10 Stubbs Street Auburn NSW 2144Phone 02 9647 2022 Email australia@mwbi.org Website mwb.org.au facebook.com/MissionWithoutBordersAustralia

Gift in Kind - 2015 UpdateWe would like to extend a very big thank you to all of our amazing supporters who volunteer, knit, crochet and donate their time, and love to provide items of warmth to the thousands of poor families, children and elderly of Eastern Europe. Your time, effort and donations have gone a very long way this year. Here’s some information that gives an idea of just how far, and how many people we have helped keep warm!

1. The total number of items sent in 2015 was 161,581.2. The total value of these items amounted to an amazing

$2,620,000!3. A total of 54 tonnes of goods in 8 separate containers was

shipped this year at a cost of $40, 747. All of these funds were raised through the generous donations given to support the work we do in Eastern Europe.

These 3 reasons are why we are so very thankful for your support.

If you struggle to knit or crochet, but feel led to help by donating towards our container/shipping expenses we would love to hear from you!

Ways you can helpIf you have only just learnt about Mission Without Borders and the Gift in Kind program and would like to get involved, thank you! Here’s how you can make a difference.

What is needed (a quick guide)Knitted, crocheted and handmade items including blankets (160x140cm), patchwork quilts or polar fleece blankets, scarves (min size 1m x 20cm), gloves, socks and adult sized beanies. If you are knitting squares we would ideally like a set of 56 same sized squares (20cm x 20cm) packaged together. This is helpful for those who support us sewing the squares into blankets if the correct number of squares (and same size) are provided.

Knitting patterns are also available – contact our office or visit www.mwb.org.au to download a copy.

Items not accepted Please do not send any second hand/used clothing items. We also cannot accept the Aids baby jumpers – these items cannot be sent due to customs regulations. Material/fabric pieces can no longer be accepted.

Please also minimise the packaging that you send with your knitted and donated items. Items sent to the field countries are counted, repacked and put into boxes and all packaging then needs to be disposed of.

Please assist and consider the collection points and our volunteers in the packing rooms by adhering to these guidelines. As you can imagine they have thousands of items to sort through. MWB also then has to dispose of the incorrectly donated goods which is costly and time consuming.

Collection Points / Drop Off Details

Sydney Office10 Stubbs Street Auburn NSW 2144 PO Box 7533 Silverwater NSW 1811 GIK Deliveries: Mon, Wed, Fri 10am-4pmP | 02 9647 2022 E | australia@mwbi.org

Melbourne WorkshopJenny Grainger 8 Birch Ave Dandenong Nth 3175 9.00am- 3.00pm Wednesday and Friday P | 0416 699 464 E | jgrainger@mwbi.org

ACT – Richard Price Bonython P | 0402 134 773 E | pricebears@ozemail.com.au

Tasmania – Carlene Irwin Spreyton P | 0437 740 329

South Australia – Leila Lydeamore CraigmoreP | 0421 276 800 E | leila@chariot.net.au

Brisbane – Lyndon and Kathy Armstrong Capalaba P | 0414 497 503 E | lk_armstrong@a1.com.au

Western Australia – Debbi Wilson Applecross P | 0417 926 695 E | deb7543@gmail.com

Please note these are our state collection points. For all other collection points including regional areas please contact our office on 02 9647 2022 and we will provide you with the details of your closest drop off point.

Keep in mind that our collection point contacts are volunteers giving of their time and resources to serve the Lord through MWB.

A special thank you to all of our volunteers and collection points, who selflessly devote their time and effort to bless the people of Eastern Europe.

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