A family helped with food in Radovis, North Macedonia
I was inspired by what Pastor Nesa Radeka in Serbia shared last year about the impact of one food parcel through Harvest for the Hungry.
For Boris it was the start of something much more than simply meeting his physical hunger; he was spiritually hungry as well. Boris attended an Alpha course, committed his life to Christ and was baptised. Then he started to share his faith with everyone around him.
Boris now leads two Bible study groups. Like Nesa shared, “Through one food parcel, sent over to us by TEN, not just Boris but so many through him discovered who they are in Christ.” There are many others like Boris whose lives have been impacted by receiving a food parcel.
Through Harvest for the Hungry grants sent out in autumn 2022 you have helped an estimated* 815 children and 658 adults. (*The final figures are not in at the time of writing.)
At our Harvest for the Hungry’s 30th anniversary event, partner Slavko Hadžić told us, “I’m really thankful for TEN, for Harvest for the Hungry project, and it’s amazing what with the help of supporters, Harvest for the Hungry accomplished and did in past thirty years… It’s not hundreds, it’s not thousands, there are tens of thousands of hungry people which were fed… So many are now saved and part of God’s kingdom because God used Harvest for the Hungry project to draw them closer to himself.”
Pastor Siniša Stojković in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina told us, ‘The food packages were for single families… we had twenty [of them] outside the church. These are mothers with children who are divorced, but whose fathers do not fulfil their obligations. They avoid paying [child support], but the state has no real laws to sanction them. Families live in very difficult social conditions… in an environment dominated by the Orthodox Church, our help is very noticeable.
‘The families we helped are very positive about our church. They tell their friends about the care we have shown them. Some of them want to come to our Sunday services. We have shared the gospel with everyone, and they are very interested in things of
a spiritual nature.’
Pastor Dusan Beredi in Novi Sad, Serbia reports, ‘After the wave of inflation that swept our country where prices doubled, almost all bakeries stopped giving away stale pastries at the end of working hours and for the first time as a team we had the opportunity to see that people were truly hungry…
‘Branka is on our [list] from the beginning. She is a former ballerina who is currently without a pension or regular income. During the summer, she sells flowers in the city centre and can survive for a month. During the winter there are no flowers she can pick and no income. Winter is very difficult for her. Help with food was necessary, that food was the only thing that she had to eat.’
To help TEN’s partners feed many hungry people this coming winter you can make a financial donation here.
Consider asking your church to hold a service to raise funds for Harvest for the Hungry. For many people, like Boris, a food parcel is more than just food; it will satisfy their spiritual hunger.
By Ken Millwood, TEN Partners Officer