Mission Without Borders Seeds of Hope

Mission Without Borders ‘Those who plant and those who water have one purpose.’ 1 Corinthians 3:8

Mission Without Borders “I felt empty”

Mission Without Borders “My kids went to school hungry.”

Mission Without Borders Bukurie received Seeds of Hope to plant.

Mission Without Borders The whole family prepared their land

Mission Without Borders “We planted beans, wheat, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.”

Mission Without Borders “We’ve had a wonderful results!”

Mission Without Borders Bukurie’s children have enough to eat.

Mission Without Borders Sajmir can now attend secondary school.

Mission Without Borders They have hope for a better future.

Mission Without Borders Thank you for planting change! Join us to give families Seeds of Hope to plant their way out of poverty. £15 will provide a box of Seeds of Hope for one family. £70 could provide a family with farming tools. £100 will set up ten families with Seeds of Hope. £2,000 could provide a family with a whole mini-farm. Seeds of Hope

Mission Without Borders Seeds of Hope presentation notes (1) Slide 1 Bukurie sees light at the end of the tunnel. She’s not the woman she was – before life was… filled with anxiety hunger and she was frightened for her children. Today, Bukurie is a producer growing her own vegetables from seeds given by Mission Without Borders (MWB). She says, “You call them Seeds of Hope, but for me these are the ‘seeds of life’.” Slide 2 In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul recognises we all have different roles and responsibilities in God’s ‘garden’. Some plant, some water, some have up-front gifts, some serve behind the scenes. We are all servants, and all equally significant. We all have one purpose in Christ. As you join with MWB and support our Seeds of Hope appeal, you too are part of God’s one purpose. You will help to change lives like Bukuire’s and her children: You will bring life as they plant and grow Seeds of Hope. Slide 3 A year ago Bukurie and her children were living on the edge of hunger. She felt empty – not just because she hadn’t eaten, but because she had no hope. How could life improve? Bukurie’s husband died when she was just 26 years old, leaving her with four small children. This fatherless family survived on a small benefit payment. It provided little. While state welfare remains the same, prices in Albania increase about twice a month. Slide 4 Sajmir (15), Sara (13), Esma (12), Izmire (9) walked three miles to school – on empty stomachs. Bukurie admits, “I try to provide food for them every day. But we often just eat bread.” Slide 5 That was before MWB offered the Bukurie Seeds of Hope. In each Seeds of Hope box are packets of vegetable seeds – everything from tomatoes, to peas, to cucumbers. MWB also supported Bukurie with the tools to plant and tend the seeds, including a plough, water pump and hose. Slide 6 Bukurie and all her children got busy clearing their land of weeds and planting their seeds. Last year was a bad one for planting in Albania because it was so rainy. None the less, the family had new hope – that the wheat they were sowing would one day become bread.

Mission Without Borders Seeds of Hope presentation notes (2) Slide 7 Last summer was a busy one for Bukurie and her children as they tended their beans, wheat, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. Slide 8 Today Bukurie is celebrating not only because she and her children have enough to eat, but because they’ve grown it all themselves! Listening to her, it’s like listening to someone who’s proud of their allotment. But what Bukurie has achieved is so much more – because these crops are her food for life. Slide 9 Seeds of Hope have changed life for Bukurie and her children: Last autumn Bukurie had food to last all this winter. She has flour to cook her daily bread. More importantly, she is earning money from selling some of her crops. So now she can buy her children clothes, medicines and their school pens and pencils. Slide 10 By selling some of her maize, Bukurie has enough money for Sajmir to go to secondary school. Slide 11 Bukurie is transformed. Before she was hopeless. Now, she exclaims that growing these seeds have “given me hope. These crops make me see light at the end of the tunnel. On the inside I was dying, but those seeds brought about change.” Her family now has more than enough to eat. The children go to school knowing there will be food to eat when they come home. Together, they are driven by ambition, not by deprivation. They have hope for a better future. Slide 12 By supporting Seeds of Hope, in prayer and giving, you can help families like Bukurie’s take steps out of poverty. It costs just £15 to give a family a box of Seeds of Hope. £70 will support a family with tools they need to work their land, a hose-pipe and help with ploughing. Give £100 and you’ll support ten families to plant their Seeds of Hope. Whatever you give, you will be helping families to plant their way out of poverty. You’ll be planting change. Thank you for your support.