If we only had a little more bread in Kosovo! By Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes Beloved in Christ our Lord, May the great peace and the love of our Lord God always be with you! The Decani Monastery Relief Fund continues onward in assisting to alleviate the suffering of individuals and families whose basic human needs are great. It is our intention only to carry out the singular commission Jesus gave to all Christians: to serve God by serving our neighbors. In this spirit, we must concentrate on addressing the practical aspects of assisting those persons who have been left desperately poor, hungry, or homeless as a result of the ongoing strife in Kosovo/Metohija. Six soup kitchens have now been developed to assist men, women, and children who simply have limited food. These soup kitchens as well feed the local school children (186 per day) and more then 210 elderly are also fed as for example in the Prekovce village of Novo Brdo. In this case I am addressing you about just one of the three soup kitchens and so the other two soup kitchens also have a high demand for food for both the children and elderly! The soup kitchens assisting schools for morning breakfast had to be cancelled due to lack of funds. At the same time the children have to wait to be provided for the noon meal which men, women, and children gather for a meal at the soup kitchens, or take their meals home for their children. So now what the soup kitchen feeds the people and four primary schools on a daily basis: Monday: Potato soup Tuesday: Young beans or peas Wednesday: Macaroni and soup Friday: Beans Saturday’s and Sunday’s meals vary as to what might be available. For this meal a half of bread is provided, however no milk, no meat, and no chicken. What meat is available is out of the questions except during holidays if they are blessed. Right now all the soup kitchen employees (all are volunteers) are asking for cans of peas, young beans, meat and chicken (a blessing beyond words), macaroni, spaghetti, potatoes, onions, cabbage and carrots. The Decani fund then provides financial assistance to purchase these items. In Boise, Idaho the local schools print the menu for what their children will eat for the month at their cafeteria and let me share with you what the elementary schools will feed the children on October 21st: Build a Burger or Hard Boiled Eggs or Turkey Sub Sandwich *French Fries *Green Beans *Tossed Green Salad *Tomato, Onion, & Pickle *Fresh Fruit All meals include ½ pint of milk. Serious electric problems throughout the region Then again in most homes and schools the lights keep going out simply because hardly anyone able to pay for the electricity bills. Soon it will be winter in the Balkans and at times many families and the schools are without heat, however when wood is available or donated through the efforts of the DMRF then one is blessed with warmth. Some of the schools that are heated the children normally stay in school longer just to keep warm, as once they get home it’s simply freezing! The Decani Fund offers assistance for the schools and homes. One might ask is it difficult to get to these soup kitchens? Where the six soup kitchens are located we have a volunteer named Presbytera Svetlana travel with a new truck recently purchased by the DMRF without any escort to the desperate families. Presbytera travels to the mountain regions and the delight of her arrival is overwhelming. The fund also provided with a new six range oven for one of the soup kitchens. Please beloved in Christ our Lord help the DMRF bring a little more nourishment to so many people who need your love at this time. I ask you please also view this short video: “If we only had a little more bread”, that shows the soup kitchens serving their hungry patrons by to youtube/watch?v=hX7rUmT5ho4 Can you please send a donation of your choice to the DMRF which is tax deductible: Decani Monastery Relief Fund, Inc. C/O Very Rev. Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes 2618 West Bannock Street Boise, Idaho 83702 God love and bless you! Humbly in Christ our Lord, +Very Reverend Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes Decani Monastery Relief Fund, President
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 19:21:36 +0000
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