The Miracle Within The Box
Thanks to the generosity of our ministry friends, December was by far our busiest and most productive month ever! All our staff and volunteers have been hard at work like the dedicated ants carrying many times their weight to make sure that we get as much as possible accomplished.
Among the winter ministry projects there are several important ones that we do at the end of the year. Each December we make special food deliveries to our Feeding Centers to supply them for the difficult winter months ahead. In addition to food, we supplied blankets, clothing, and Christian literature. We are happy to see that out of our two 40 foot containers of winter clothing we have diligently supplied all of the Feeding Centers that needed clothes After that, we still had plenty to share with others that were in need. With lots of miles on our ministry vehicles, we can rest assured that there are thousands of children and elderly people warm this winter. In my mind I can see them smiling in spite of the recent snow that came over Romania since they no longer have to stay inside to keep warm.
As the news about the Bread of Life outreach spread, many new people contacted us. They were trying their best to explain the crises of children and elderly that they knew of, hoping they were convincing enough. As our team quickly said “Yes, of course we can help,” they were a bit surprised that they did not need to keep asking. In our post-communist culture we are accustomed to people telling us NO, so our re- action and willingness to help came as a surprise to them. But isn’t this why we are here? Our purpose is not to compete with other ministries, nor to build “bigger barns”, but to bless the poor that need our help. We believe that this is why God blessed us and why you have entrusted us with your support. It was such a blessing to be able to say ‘Yes’ when we received phone calls from new people that needed winter clothing and food for the poor in their area.
The most exciting ministry project in December is certainly Operation Shoebox. We want to say thanks to all our supporters that took their time and finances to be a part of this project. Our BOL team matched your level of dedication by taking the time to sort, label with names, and even go to the houses of the children that attend our feeding programs to personally hand them boxes and share about Jesus with the entire family. Besides the BOL Orphanage and the Feeding Centers, we reached many more poor communities in rural parts of Romania and offered the children shoeboxes and Bibles. It is hard to describe in words the excitement on the faces of the children as they received the gifts. Thank God for gravity, because they were close to levitating as they were handed the shoeboxes.
( We pray that these photos from the different Feeding Centers will be a blessings for you to see. All the effort and sacrifice that you have put into this projects is really well invested in the Kingdom of God as the Gospel is shared and the children are feeling loved through the gifts they received. )
With all the shoeboxes that were shipped from the US and those we made here, we presented close to 2,500 shoeboxes to children throughout Romania. Praise God! As adults, we know that a box full of items does not last long, but to the children this is so much more. For them this is a miracle and a clear sign that someone loves them. For most, this is the only time when they receive something. I wish you could be with us when we make the deliveries to experience first-hand the feeling that words cannot produce, but let me try with the following account of what happened when we delivered shoe boxes to one family. On the outskirts of Bucharest, there is a huge abandoned concrete platform, probably the parking lot for local transportation buses. There, at the entrance, in the old guard booth (about 3 meters by 6 meters) a family with seven children found shelter. We help them regularly with food, clothing, and blankets. At Christmas, we take them shoeboxes. Among the little children in the family, there is Gheorge, now 4 years old. He was born deaf and dumb. Before we started passing those shoeboxes I told them I needed to take a few photos to show friends in the US that their boxes reached Romania. As we were passing out the boxes the top on his box fell off … he immediately began to smile the biggest smile I saw ! He was looking at his mother trying to tell her with his eyes how happy he was, and yes, he was happy! I waved at him to look at the camera; he saw me, but quickly turned back to his mother to look her in the eyes. His smile was contagious and I am thinking now of suggesting we give all children the boxes with no top next year :). The world stopped turning for a few moments as I was deeply touched by Gheorghe’s spontaneous reaction.
Yes, the shoebox project with all the effort and finances put into it is clearly worth it. God is praised as children hear about His love for the world and receive a symbolic gift. I know God is happy when His children are happy. This is the miracle within the shoebox. Inside each box, there is a little piece of God’s love and our heart which goes out to the little ones. We pray that your face also smiles as you look at the photos in our report.
Thank you, thank you, and again thank you …for being a trusted partner in our ministry! We ended 2016 humbled by God’s mercy for us and with much appreciation for your love and dedication. We will continue to keep our promise in 2017 and be the bridge between you and the poor of Romania. God bless you all!
Alin P.
Thank you for your interest in Bread of Life Ministries. We have been able to accomplish a lot with the help of our supporters around the world. There is still more for us to do. Please prayerfully consider how you might help support Bread of Life as we provide support to children and families in need.
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