Our Autumn Newsletter is now available.  You can read it on-line or contact the office on 020 7940 1370 and we’ll mail a copy to you.

The Vice-President of the Evangelical Church of Bosnia-Herzegovina thanks Mission Without Borders and all supporters. 

Following donations of food through Operation Christmas Love to some of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s poorest communities, Reverend Zoran Pavic wrote to express his appreciation. MWB’s office in Bosnia received his encouraging letter after distributing thousands of Operation Christmas Love boxes, packed with food and Christian literature, to needy families and elderly.

Find out how Operation Christmas Love helped the Caldara family.

Learn more about Bosnia-Herzegovina.

MWB Albania is responding to some of the worst flooding the country has witnessed for decades. More than 12,000 people have been moved from their homes in north-west Albania. Although it’s a month since rains began, the emergency continues to be catastrophic. In the villages around Shkodra, boats are the only means of transport.

Volunteers at MWB’s warehouse packed bags and boxes with basic food, clothes and hygiene items.  Since before Christmas, trucks with MWB staff have distributed these to flood victims in the worst flooded areas.

Unloading goods from MWB warehouse, Durres

MWB is working in cooperation with local churches, local government and Albania’s Emergency Committee in the most damaged city, Shkoder, and part of Berat, south of Durres. These local authorities have expressed a sincere appreciation for MWB’s help in this critical situation. Local government leader, Zef Hila, stated ‘this is another testimony of the true character of this organisation that is always near the ones in difficulty.’

Interior Minister Lulzim Basha stated the situation around Shkoder was ‘critical’

In 2007, we delivered an Operation Christmas Love parcel to Elena, 25, and her daughter Diana, 6.  Elena was too sick to work.  She was very dependent, passive and unstable.  The Child Protection Department was about to take Diana away. 

We invited Elena and Diana to the Community Centre run by MWB and local churches.  They received a daily hot meal, material help and encouragement. 
The change has been dramatic.

They attend Church.  Elena passed the Computer training at the Centre with excellent marks.  Elena is physically and emotionally stronger and has just started a job.  Diana is confident and doing well at school.

The local MWB Co-ordinator, Plamena Valkova, said,” The Elena that I met at the end of 2007 is very different from the Elena I know now – a responsible, determined and loving mother.  I believe that God is able to heal her completely”. 
These Seeds of Hope are beginning to bear fruit.

 The distribution of Operation Christmas Love parcels is underway.  We have received three videos showing the work so far - one from Ukraine, Romania and Moldova.

This year we are aiming to distribute 30,000 parcels to some of the neediest people in Eastern Europe.  Each parcel costs £15 and is packed full of basic food supplies and some Christmas treats.  They are a real lifeline for many and bring hope to all that receive them.

Click here to watch the distribution in action

After a summer of drought in Romania, food and vegetables became more expensive.  But while the prices rose by 40%, pensions and the minimum salary increased by only 10 – 15%. With rising gas and electricity prices too, the fight for survival became too difficult for many of the poorest families. So this year in particular, Operation Christmas Love became a lifeline to many.
The Christy* Family of 6 is one of the needy families who received an Operation Christmas Love parcel that made all the difference.
The monthly cash income of this family is about £40 and the OCL parcel they received was a wonderful surprise for them. The basic food helped the mother to prepare a Christmas meal and she said that with the sugar, the oil and the white flour, she could make buscuits for her boys. The children couldn’t believe it when they saw the chocolate and the sweets.  Christmas became something they could look forward to. 
* name changed to preserve confidentiality