"There is no where else to go" Mission Without Borders in Albania

It was quite the experience this past week to be able to journey with Mission Without Borders coordinators  in Albania for two days.  At times it was almost too much- to see a family with two small children living without electricity or plumbing in freezing temperatures.  A simple propane tank produced a little bit of heat for one room of their 2 room apartment (honestly not a lot of heat but it was better than nothing).  I asked how she cooked.  There was another small tank with a stove contraption on the top.  She took the half pot of beans and showed how she would reheat them again for dinner (for a family of four).  Mission Without Borders has provided couches so the children had a warm place to sleep at night.  They had lived in 2 bare rooms previously.  This was an emotionally draining first stop!  But the mission had just started working with this couple and I know the situation will get better.  We can't share Christ in such situations without sharing Christ- showing His Love in tangible ways with those who have nothing.  That's what the Family sponsorship and Families in crisis programs are all about.  And these programs work..I have seen it.

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James 2:14-17 English Standard Version (ESV)

Sali and his family live on the outskirts of Durres, Albania. Below sea level, their house looks out on empty, desolate swamp land. Every time it rains, the battered and broken house floods through the floors and the cracked roof. The land is considered toxic, a result of sulphur explosions from a nearby chemical plant. They stay simply because they have nowhere else to go. “I have known sadness and struggle all my life,” Sali, 38, says. His only source of income today is collecting recycling bottles. MWB’s Albanian team are supporting Sali and his family through its Families in Crisis project, providing urgent food & hygiene parcels, clothing, shoes, blankets and furniture to help restore their dignity. Learn more at mwbca.org on how MWB is also providing emotional & spiritual support and in so doing, helping bring hope to people rooted in deep poverty and helplessness. #poverty #albania #easterneurope #missionwithoutborders #faith #hope #charity #nonprofit #christian

A photo posted by MWB Canada (@mwb_canada) on Jan 12, 2017 at 2:02pm PST