Hello everyone!
This post is a bit different than all the others to date. Instead of simply sharing with you my comings and goings here in Serbia, I wish to use this post as a means of pleading for help on behalf of my Roma family here. Bojan (one of the Roma pastors) has poured out to me his heart's concerns for a glaring problem in their community.
Simply put, the widows here are rarely helped.
Though there are many cases of such families in dire need, he shared with me but a handful of the abundant stories, and so I am compelled to share them with you.
One older woman, a widow of about 70, was in her home one recent winter with the heater close by her for warmth. The circumstances were unclear, but somehow the drapes caught fire and spread wickedly fast. The woman had a hindering leg condition, and by the grace of God there were neighbors present nearby to save her from being a part of the house's fate. Everything was burned to the ground....everything. Bojan and his wife helped repair as much as they could: new furniture, doors, electricity, and various other items. Resources, however, only endure for so long.
You see, 99% of the Roma people here in Leskovac do not have permanent, steady jobs. They just work on plantations or pick fruit during the summer months. What they earn is channeled to gather what they need for winter, and any extra money is usually spent quickly. The point is that the church struggles to help families who need it because the church's income falls short of its giving output. The demand is greater than the supply.
There are many widows who are sick and in desperate need of medicine.
There is a widow who cares for her 4 granddaughters because the mother left them. The father doesn't work. The children began to get sick because nourishment lacked. One of the girls has severe vitamin deficiency, and her hair has started falling out--people even suspect leukemia. Their grandmother is sick as well.
A young mother became a widow just 3 years ago. She is left with her two children of 13 and 15. She needs the finances to support her children's education. They get no social support/aid at all.
The stories go on and on. The cries for help grow louder, and the tears keep falling from those who burn to help yet cannot--like Bojan and his wife, who are trying hard to pool their resources to help one or two widows...they cannot help all of them, and he has his own family to care for. He tells me this winter is predicted to hit them very hard, and he is worried. With what I know of winters here in Serbia, I would be too.
This post is a signal flare from the middle of the ocean. These people give and ask for nothing in return.
This post is a bit different than all the others to date. Instead of simply sharing with you my comings and goings here in Serbia, I wish to use this post as a means of pleading for help on behalf of my Roma family here. Bojan (one of the Roma pastors) has poured out to me his heart's concerns for a glaring problem in their community.
Simply put, the widows here are rarely helped.
Though there are many cases of such families in dire need, he shared with me but a handful of the abundant stories, and so I am compelled to share them with you.
One older woman, a widow of about 70, was in her home one recent winter with the heater close by her for warmth. The circumstances were unclear, but somehow the drapes caught fire and spread wickedly fast. The woman had a hindering leg condition, and by the grace of God there were neighbors present nearby to save her from being a part of the house's fate. Everything was burned to the ground....everything. Bojan and his wife helped repair as much as they could: new furniture, doors, electricity, and various other items. Resources, however, only endure for so long.
You see, 99% of the Roma people here in Leskovac do not have permanent, steady jobs. They just work on plantations or pick fruit during the summer months. What they earn is channeled to gather what they need for winter, and any extra money is usually spent quickly. The point is that the church struggles to help families who need it because the church's income falls short of its giving output. The demand is greater than the supply.
There are many widows who are sick and in desperate need of medicine.
There is a widow who cares for her 4 granddaughters because the mother left them. The father doesn't work. The children began to get sick because nourishment lacked. One of the girls has severe vitamin deficiency, and her hair has started falling out--people even suspect leukemia. Their grandmother is sick as well.
A young mother became a widow just 3 years ago. She is left with her two children of 13 and 15. She needs the finances to support her children's education. They get no social support/aid at all.
The stories go on and on. The cries for help grow louder, and the tears keep falling from those who burn to help yet cannot--like Bojan and his wife, who are trying hard to pool their resources to help one or two widows...they cannot help all of them, and he has his own family to care for. He tells me this winter is predicted to hit them very hard, and he is worried. With what I know of winters here in Serbia, I would be too.
This post is a signal flare from the middle of the ocean. These people give and ask for nothing in return.
"Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
-James 1:27 (HCSB)
"Now all the believers were together and had everything in common. So they sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need.
-Acts 2:44-45
Please, my friends. I am a messenger asking on the behalf of many. Bojan has simply and humbly requested that I keep these people lifted in prayer. Yes, they need the strength that God supplies through prayer, but for goodness' sake these people need money.
My prayer is that those who read this will be stirred to raise a hand to help... to send money. Please, friends, what an impact that could be made if, for a short time, your tithes and offerings were sent here to aid these people--to quite possibly save lives from a very real downward spiral.
I am terribly sorry for the mixup for those of you who have already viewed this post, but there was a bit of a miscommunication on how to handle any gifts that might be sent.If you choose to send a gift, please let me know first via email at:
Please include how much you plan to give, and I will inform you as to where to send the money.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and may God Almighty bless you for your generosity, as He has been proven to do over and over.
I am terribly sorry for the mixup for those of you who have already viewed this post, but there was a bit of a miscommunication on how to handle any gifts that might be sent.If you choose to send a gift, please let me know first via email at:
tweiss4.12@gmail.com
Please include how much you plan to give, and I will inform you as to where to send the money.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and may God Almighty bless you for your generosity, as He has been proven to do over and over.
Peace and take care, everyone.
Tyler: Can you set up a PayPal account in Serbia for the church so that they can easily receives funds from overseas? I am not sure sending checks via the mail is as reliable an option (Seems odd that they could cash checks drawn on a USA local credit union...?) Thank you! - Virgil Adderley (Hannah's Dad)
ReplyDelete