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March 2014

P.O. Box 2007, Abbotsford, BC V2T 3T8

Greetings friends

Volodymyr Brychuk, our Communications Manager in Ukraine, knew some of those killed when the protests in Kiev turned violent. “Many of those who were killed in Kiev have families with small children and joined the protests actively wanting to stop corruption and lawlessness in their country; wanting a change, a better perspective for their children.”

We are so very grateful to you for your support and prayers for the children and families of Ukraine. You are aware of the needs, the poverty and disadvantage of the people we all work to help so you reach out. You not only provide physical help but so importantly you bring hope too many. So I’m sure you are just as shocked and saddened as I am at what is hap-pening now. People are being killed! Children are losing their moms and dads; they are in danger of losing hope and now need our help more than ever before. As a supporter of Mission Without Borders who has or is sponsoring children or providing other support we know you are very concerned and want to do whatever you can to help.

Please may I ask that you, your family and friends and your churches organize prayer groups for Ukraine and its people humbly asking for the protection and love of Jesus for Ukraine and its people no matter what side they are on.

This tragic and difficult Ukrainian situation is presenting an extra challenge to Mission Without Borders to meet the new needs brought about by the deteriorating conditions there.

To the outside world the events in Independence Square in Kiev seemed to be the start of the crisis in Ukraine. For Ukraini-ans, these protests were the result of many years of economic hardship and political dissatisfaction. Integration with the EU was many people’s best hope for the future and when that seemed to have been taken away, their hope was gone.

Having worked with local churches over many years in Ukraine,

Mission Without Borders sees how this affects real people. We are continuing to support those families and children that have been bearing the brunt of the worsening situation.

Already unemployment is as high as 25%, it costs more than $200 a month to rent a small apartment yet a schoolteacher makes only $217. The cost of staples like fuel to warm homes, bread, milk and vegetables are all climbing out of the reach of Ukraine’s poor.

The families who live in the villages are especially hard hit. They do not have money to provide themselves with heating

materials. Your help enables us to send truckloads of wood, coal and peat blocks from the Mission to keep their houses warm during the wintertime.

The Romanyk family gladly got 2 tons of peat blocks and will have enough of it till the end of the winter to keep their house warm. The Ro-manyks are a very poor family that live under hard circumstances. There are seven children in the family. The family lives in a small, very old and ramshackle three-room house. The walls are in terrible condition, crumbled and ruined here and there. There’s no floor covering, just worn, bare boards. All the furniture in the house is rickety and looks horrible. No lighting fixtures either, just bare bulbs. The general picture is oppressive and disheartening.

The family draws water from the well, which is in their yard. The cooking is done on the gas stove, but the heating is done by wood and coal. They do not have a bathroom but only an outside toilet. The outside of the house leaves much to

be desired- too poor and unsightly. The yard is narrow and quite small. The fam-ily, though, has a piece of land for a vegetable garden, where they plant potatoes, carrots, red beets and other vegetables.

The family’s financial situation is very difficult and they do not have anyone to help them out. Olena’s (the mother) par-ents have already passed away, and Petro (the father) Food prepared at Community Centre

Family to Family

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

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“Thank you so much for your kindness and charity.Let God bless you with His every possible blessing!”

has only his mother left, who is 85 and lives quite far from her son’s family. She is ill and needs assistance herself.

Petro Romanyk is a mechanic by profession. He used to work as a driver. However, now, at 55, it is very difficult find a profes-sional job. Thus, Petro works as a watchman 10 km from their village. He gets a minimum wage of about $135 a month. Olena stays at home with the baby and younger children. In spite of their uneasy housing conditions and difficult financial situation, the family is not depressed and seems to hope for the better. The children are very active, jolly and smiling. Generally, the atmo-sphere in the family is friendly and peaceful. Olena gives praise to her kids and says that the older children help her very much with the housework.. The family has pigs and a horse for field works.

They also used to have a goat, but unfortunately she got ill and died.

To Olena’s mind, their family’s big-gest problem is their cramped and bad living conditions and accordingly, their most pressing need is to rebuild their house. The parents’ also wish that their children would be healthy and could get a good education.

Petro and Olena say that they cannot imagine their survival without the Mission’s help. As beneficia-

ries of the Family to Family programme, the family regularly gets parcels with food, hygienic items, clothes, shoes, tableware, bedclothes, even mattresses, and all essential support for them. Mission support is particularly vital for the Romanyk family as their monthly income would not be enough to buy heating materials for the winter let alone all the other necessities they need. We wish that their sponsors could see that deep appreciation in their eyes and hear, with their own ears, the Romanyks’ sincere words of gratefulness.

“It happened so that our family is in very straitened circum-stances, and we have nobody to help us. We cannot fully express how much your assistance means to us. Thank you so much for your kindness and charity. Let God bless you with His every pos-sible blessing!”

The Romanyks are not alone in these challenging and difficult times in Ukraine. They have you and other members of our Mis-sion family behind them. But there are many more families like the

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

Students of the Culinary Arts

Andrei received his food

Romanyks desperate for your prayer s and help. In these espe-cially trying times may I please ask that if you can, to send a little extra this month for the Ukraine.

With our grateful thanks to you for your critically important sup-port.

David InwoodNational Director

PS: Please mark any contribution you wish to make to help Ukraine as “Where Most Needed Ukraine” Over 90 cents of every dollar you contribute goes directly to assist people in need. Please continue to remember the Romanyk family, Volodymyr and our other colleagues in Ukraine at this challenging time.

They have specifically asked:• Please give thanks that the Mission staff, their families and our

offices are safe and please continue to pray for their safety

• Please pray for those in leadership in Ukraine and Internation-ally, that they might be wise and humble in their decision making

• Pray for the many families like the Romanyks that we work with, and the children in government institutions

• Pray for the churches and church leaders that we work with that they might be a light in their communities. In particular please remember the Easter celebrations planned with the children who may be feeling fearful because of the current circumstanc-es

• Please pray for the distribution of goods that is such an impor-tant part of our work, that it is not disrupted by problems with government departments that are in a state of flux

• And please pray that Ukraine can move forward again to be-come a stable nation with fair and honest government

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