In the fall, Thea and Palle went on a project trip to Central Asia. In a country in Central Asia, we met Yildiz, who told us how she was called to start the project "Bags of Hope".
14-year-old boy had nowhere to go...
We asked Yildiz if she could remember the first time she felt called to do something for another person. She said she saw a homeless boy who didn't know where to go. He was walking with some other boys because his mother had kicked him out. Yildiz later found out that his mother was in a psychiatric hospital and that his grandmother had died. He was only 14 at the time and had nowhere to go.
Yildiz took the boy into his home and he ended up staying there for 2-3 weeks. Yildiz's husband said they should look for the boy's relatives to find a more sustainable solution. They got down on their knees and prayed over the situation. They read the Letter of James chapter 1:2, which says "My brothers, count it nothing but joy when you face trials of various kinds, for you know that when your faith is tested, it produces perseverance. And perseverance must lead to a perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete and not fall short in anything."
A few days later, the boy remembered that he had an uncle. Yildiz and her husband found the uncle and asked him if he would take the boy in. The uncle was willing to take him in, but his wife was not. They had two children, one of whom was severely allergic. They ended up saying yes, and they prepared the documents so they could accept the boy. Yildiz and her husband prayed for the family and for God to heal the son. The allergy-afflicted son was healed!
The boy had an abusive upbringing, causing him to run away from his uncle and back to the boarding school he had previously attended. When he returned, the teachers were shocked. The last time he had been there, he had a speech problem, but now it was gone. At the boarding school, the boy had a powerful encounter with God, resulting in him becoming a Christian today. Yildiz says that the boy, his wife and their three children attend the same church as her and her husband.
The kids next door were hungry
The second time Yildiz felt called to help was when she met a Jewish family. Here she had a revelation that she should start feeding children. God showed Yildiz and told her to feed them in front of her own front door. Specifically bread and soup. Times were very hard back then, so Yildiz and her husband had to count their money. They used their money to make food to give to street children.
Right next to them lived a large Jewish family with many children. The children were left with their father, so Yildiz and her husband fed the children for 3 years. The father accepted Jesus and the wife returned home. It was only when the wife returned that Yildiz and her husband found out they were Jewish. After a few years, the family became better off financially and they started distributing food from their house. One day the Jewish opposition came to the country and they helped the family get to Israel. The family consisted of 18 people. They have all become Christians.
Yildiz and her husband are still in contact with the family and in 2012 were invited to Israel for 2 weeks to visit them.
After helping the boy and his family, Yildiz felt God calling her to go to the campsite where she came into contact with children who were drug addicts and abusers. She found them in sewage pipes, among other places, as they stayed there for warmth. Yildiz and her husband fed them and word quickly spread among them that there was a place to get food.
Project "Bags of Hope"
It was 25 years ago today that Yildiz got his calling to feed children. Today, the project has grown much bigger and is called "Bags of Hope". The project involves sharing bags with food items such as flour, rice, milk, chicken, oil, pasta and other basic ingredients. Danish European Mission donors and improvers support the project in 2 countries in Central Asia.
At Yildiz's church, they reach 70 families, 20 of whom receive "Bags of Hope" weekly. In addition, 40 people currently come to the church weekly to receive a meal. Because they are at the church, it is legal to share the Word, so they end the meals with a devotional.
By distributing 'Bags of Hope', Christians can show God's love to needy and vulnerable families in a practical way.
