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3 6 11
Your kindness touches Practical aid for
High excitement family spurned families living
by neighbours in poverty
BLYTHSWOODNEWS
Number 76 Shoe Box Appeal 2021
So happy to find
things they needed
Story on page 2
Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org
Cover story
High excitement
Marioara was so excited to receive a Christmas
gift that her mother Elena had to take her
in her arms.
“We had just stopped on
the outskirts of the village
This single-roomed dwelling in Gjakova, Kosovo, is home to 11 when we met this family”
members and three generations of one family says Paula Croitor.
“Marioara is the youngest
One of the first boxes to be “Ismedin was very happy of ten children.
handed out last winter with his shoebox, especially
went to four-year-old when he found a toy, hat, “The parents, granny and
Ismedin, in Gjakova, gloves and sweets. Each children all live in a one-
Kosovo, where 11 members member of the family received roomed house that works as
of his extended family a box and they were so happy a kitchen, bedroom and
occupy a single-roomed to find things which they bathroom and as a study
dwelling. needed, such as shampoo.” room for the older children.
“They are a very poor family,” Despite Covid-19 restrictions “Although their house is
says shoebox distributor in the UK and Europe, Sucheava County, Romania: surrounded by mud, inside
Faton Berisha. “Their living Blythswood’s 2020 Shoe Box Marioara reacts with they keep the floor clean and
conditions are difficult, Appeal delivered 75,218 gift- excitement to her they constantly wash
especially in winter. filled boxes to eight countries unexpected gift their clothes.
in Eastern Europe.
“The toys brought happy
smiles to the girl’s face and
she loved the delicious
jelly beans.”
2 Get your shoebox leaflet now – call 01349 830777 Order shoebox leaflets online at www.shoeboxappeal.org 3
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Personal hygiene SO MANY
items help THINGS IN
families hit by ONE BOX
covid lockdown Gleb is nine years old and
lives with his mother.
Sometimes she has too
Erjon has his dad at home much to drink. When this
again! Truly every cloud happens volunteers from
has a silver lining and for a local association for
the 14-year-old with Down people with Down syndrome
syndrome the year of help to take care of the child.
economic disruption
across Europe meant that She was amazed when the
his father was no longer association presented her boy
working in another country. with a Blythswood shoebox,
telling the volunteer, “There
This resulted in a tightened are so many things in one box
budget for the family of six and such a beautiful scarf
who live in a small house in and hat.”
Gjakova, Kosovo, but they
received help with food An association for people with Down syndrome Gleb liked it too – especially
from Family Church Gjakova, presented Gleb with a Blythswood shoebox the pencils as he loves to draw.
which also presented Erjon
with a gift-filled box from
Blythswood’s 2020 Shoe
Box Appeal.
Family in rehab want to make a new start
“Your gifts really matter,”
says shoebox distributer Sergey was once the director of a “This is Sergey with his two-year-old
Alma Lama. “Although Covid- Erjon with his dad: rehabilitation centre in Kherson, daughter, Carolina,” says Tanya
19 stopped many activities shoebox gifts helped families Ukraine. His own earlier experiences Shpygunova, who sent the picture to
that our church normally which lost income because of of addiction meant he could Blythswood News. “Her mother
does at Christmas, the boxes the pandemic understand what his clients were survived violence and the child
arrived in time and reached going through. But he lost the witnessed things she shouldn’t. But
their destination. We “More than ever families position when he himself started now the whole family is in rehabilitation.
delivered to the poorest were thankful for these gifts using drink and drugs again, beat his They want to recover and live together.
areas, to an obstetrics unit, to as many have lost their jobs wife and nearly died from an overdose. They pray and hope.
a kindergarten for children and are unable to meet their
with autism and Down basic needs including When Blythswood shoeboxes were “Carolina liked the sweets and the
syndrome, to an organisation personal hygiene. God's distributed at the centre last winter, Sergey shower gel for babies. Her daddy was
for people with handicaps, helping hand has reached the was back there as a patient, undergoing pleased with his hat and scarf.”
and to families affected by needs of these families rehabilitation for the second time.
Covid-19. through you all.”
Carolina with her daddy: family bonnds, nearly destroyed by drug and alcohol misuse, are slowly being rebuilt
4 Order shoebox leaflets online at www.sshoeboxappeal.org or call 01349 830777 5
Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org
Boxes
YOUR KINDNESS for all
ages
Showing love
TOUCHES FAMILY to people in
SPURNED BY NEIGHBOURS
Rifca and her family are the found a Christian who lives
Moldova
only Roma in the village further away from her house
where they live, in Suceava, and who lets her take from his Vasilica loves to read.
north-east Romania. fountain the water she needs The booklet he found in his
to drink, cook, wash and clean. box was written for teens
“The neighbours are not happy and young adults but that
that they live there,” says “She received the shoebox didn’t discourage the ten-
shoebox distributor Paula Croitor. with so much joy as she isn’t year-old from diving in.
“Rifca doesn’t have running used to too many kind Do You Still Love Me? is the
water and her well is dry. gestures. We also gave her a true story of a Romanian
gift box for her new-born girl who lost her mother
“The neighbours don’t want baby. She felt so spoiled when she was just 11 years
to give her water but she and blessed!” old and who was brought
back to the faith of her
Surprised by kindness: Rifca with your gifts parents after going far astray.
Vasilica’s childhood
Treats for children whose mum experiences, growing up in
Moldova, have been equally
struggles to pay the rent unsettling. He was just four
when his mother walked out
Sweets! For five-year-old on the family.
Sofia and her little brother
they are a treat. Their father The woman with whom his
is dead and their mother, father now lives in another
Bojana, struggles to pay the village doesn’t want the boy
rent on their village home around. So Vasilica stays with
near Kragujevac, Serbia. his grandma who takes good
care of him.
And there’s another treat in
store for the little girl who loves Andrei Groza who delivered
a bed-time story. Miriam: The the box says: “His grandma
Big Sister's Secret was the appreciated the clothes, and Vasilica loves to read
book for children included in Vasilica was very happy for
2020’s boxes. Produced in the book. Every year Blythswood These items are specially
Serbian and five other east includes in each box a Bible produced in six languages –
European languages, it tells “Thank you for showing love story book for children, a Albanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian,
how Miriam looked after her to people in Moldova. May biographical booklet for teens Romanian, Serbian
baby brother – a story that is God bless everyone who or a Words of Life calendar and Ukrainian.
certain to strike a chord with donated these gifts.” for adults.
Sofia today. Sofia and her little brother explore their boxes
6 Order shoebox leaflets online at www.sshoeboxappeal.org or call 01349 830777 7
Blythswood
shoeboxappeal.org
News shoeboxappeal.org Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org
Simple musical instrument
made a boy’s day
Six-year-old Aron lives
in a make-shift house with no
indoor plumbing or electricity.
Aron loves music and
was overjoyed to find a
simple mouth organ in his
shoebox. Sometimes your
shoebox gift finds its way to
the person who will
value it most.
Aron plays a tune on his
new mouth organ
Lejla was delighted to receive a For families like this, every item in
colouring book and crayons a Blythswood shoebox is useful
Gloves and hat keep
Now they can colour-in at home Ratka warm at home
Lejla is six and loves to draw. “It was a dream come true Their mother is employed by Kragujevac, Serbia, December 2020:
At their pre-school nursery, when they found crayons the municipality to sweep the “The gift of gloves and a hat mean a lot to
she and her sisters Melani (5) and colouring books in their pavements and pick up litter. Ratka,” says David Armus, who presented
and Mercedesz (7) enjoyed boxes,” says Melinda who “She was glad to get the job the 75-year-old with a Blythswood
using colouring pencils. delivered the boxes in but struggles with its duties shoebox. “Her home, provided by the
Bekecs, north-east Hungary. as her children are small,” municipality, lacks basic amenities and it is
Now they can do this at Melinda says. “They have no a challenge for her to keep warm in winter.
home, too, thanks to the “Their little brother was glad running water at home and
gifts which you sent them to find sweets in his box. the ceiling is in a very “To earn a little extra, she works as a carer
through Blythswood’s They hardly get any sweets at bad condition.” for another elderly lady. Her income is barely
Shoe Box Appeal. home because of their enough for food so items such as toiletries
extreme poverty.” are really appreciated by her.
“She told me that the calendar with Bible verses
is a great encouragement because the words
remind her that God is with her every day.
She says: ‘I may be poor, but with God I am rich’”. Your gifts helped Ratka keep warm in winter
8 Give a precious gift – Watch Blythswood’s new Shoe Box Appeal video on YouTube 9
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“Time after time we have
seen people receive the exact PRACTICAL
things they needed, in ways
which we could not plan.”
AID FOR
Radost’s life-long disabilities
FAMILIES
mean that she can neither
walk nor talk, and she suffers
LIVING IN
from epilepsy. Difficulty in
swallowing makes a high-
POVERTY
calorie diet essential, putting Vilmos Lakatos delivered
more pressure on the shoeboxes to Emil and his
household budget. “For them, family in a village in
all the gifts are so much northeast Hungary. “Life is
appreciated,” Stoyan says. difficult for families like
these,” he says. “The only
“Svetla asked me to thank employment in the area is
you for this blessing. She seasonal fruit-picking.
Plovdiv region, southern Bulgaria: your gifts were a says you make many They try to put some
blessing to Radost and to her mum and dad Bulgarian families happy.” money aside or else buy
firewood for the winter but Toiletries, sweets, tools, small items of clothing – the items on
Boxes: a blessing for HUGE
plans don’t always work out. the Shoe Box Appeal checklist are all useful to people like Emil,
struggling to bring up families in areas of high unemployment
families living with SURPRISE FOR
“Emil is a hard worker who
repaired the old house behind girl and the father didn’t want “Although they did not know
CHILDREN IN him so that he and his wife to take responsibility. So Emil it at the time, they see now
disability in Bulgaria TEMPORARY
could have their own home.
His sister was very young
and his wife took in the baby
and have been raising her as
that God was fulfilling a need
because it turned out later that
when she gave birth to a little their own child ever since. they could not have children of
Radost means joy.
And that’s what her mum
mum Svetla wanted to talk
about her son Theodor who
SHELTER their own.”
and dad feel when they had passed away in August at
see their daughter smile. the age of 19.
Although she is 15, Radost Attila was just 18 months old and his
is as dependent on their “Theodor was also severely sister a year older when they were
care as though she were disabled,” Stoyan says. presented with shoeboxes at a temporary
just one year old. “Svetla was reminiscing shelter for families in northern Hungary.
about how a Blythswood
At the end of a very difficult shoebox contained Both suffer from a genetic condition that affects
year, the whole family found incontinence pants which he their weight gain and coordination.
reason to smile, as gift-filled needed so badly and which “Your Christmas presents came as huge surprise
boxes from Blythswood’s were impossible for his and brought joy to the little ones,” reports Janos
Shoe Box Appeal made them parents to obtain here. Forgacs. “The coloured pencils and the sweets
feel loved and blessed. “Another time, Svetla’s were the favourites of both children.”
husband received a box with
Pastor Stoyan Slavchev’s support socks which gave Scan here
visit in December was tinged him relief from his to donate
with sadness as well as varicose veins.
thanksgiving, as Radost’s
10 You can donate online – go to www.blytthswood.org/donate-to-shoe-box-appeal 11
Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org
AGE-OLD STORY Some stories never grow old – not even in
3,500 years. In Egypt, Miriam watched over
INSPIRES BULGARIAN her baby brother as his basket floated among
the bulrushes. In Bulgaria, Fanka looks
TEENAGER after her four little brothers and a sister, too.
“Her parents are struggling to make ends
meet,” says Daniela Encheva who visited the
impoverished Roma community in December,
bringing boxes from Blythswood’s Shoe Box
Appeal and aid from Mission Possible Bulgaria.
She is used to everything going to the little
ones and this time again the colourful boxes
with Christmas presents were for the boys.
“She was content with a bag of sweets but there
was a real sparkle of joy when she saw the
children’s book Miriam: The Big Sister's Secret.
“Fanka will read it to her siblings by the stove
in these cold winter days and tell them how
God delivers His faithful people in difficult times.
The story of Miriam inspires 15-year-old Fanka as She says she will be like Miriam, that she will
she cares for her little brothers and sister trust in God and seek His help.”
Aulona (centre) with her husband Nerim and his mother:
‘It’s better to be glad and enjoy each day as it comes’
With your support summer camps go ahead in 2021
YOU REMEMBERED US, EVEN IN 2020
Life is not easy for Emanuela
“Every Christmas for two “After such a difficult year, the poverty every day, especially and her six brothers. Home
decades now we have been children were so excited to in winter. ‘But there’s no is a one-room space with
blessed with shoeboxes receive the gifts. Besides point in being sad,’ she told very poor facilities. With no
from Blythswood Care,” visiting families in Bathore, us. ‘It’s better to be glad and support from their father,
says Besa Shapllo, director we also took some boxes to enjoy each day as it comes.’ their mother struggles to
of Mission Possible Albania. two households in Thumane, provide their basic needs.
“Even in 2020, despite the which had been badly “My prayer for that family is
difficulties caused by affected by the earthquake that God will make their At camp, everything is different.
Covid-19, the boxes came. the previous winter. hearts joyful with the joy that Cooked meals every day.
surpasses any human joy.” A full programme of activities.
“When we told the children “One was the Koleci family. And the feeling that Emanuela
of the Miracle Bible Club about Despite their poverty and the and her brothers enjoy the
the date for the Christmas loss of their home in the same status and the same
celebration, some of them earthquake, we found them in good things as all the
asked if boxes were coming. good heart and full of Scan here other children.
We told them to wait in faith. gratitude for your gifts. to donate
Here we have a saying ‘Even Standing with her husband Romania, July 2021: Your generous response to Blythswood’s camps Your gifts make all the
the king welcomes the and mother-in-law, Aulona appeal is enabling hundreds of children and young people to enjoy difference. Thank you very
presents, let alone the children’. admitted it was hard to face camp this summer. much indeed.
You can donate online – go to
12 Donate today – call 01349 830777 Mon to Fri 9am – 5pm www.blythswood.org/donate-to-shoe-box-appeal 13
Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org Blythswood News shoeboxappeal.org
FIND A
Join us BLYTHSWOOD
SPEAKER NEAR
Your gift brings a
VE NTS smile to Florica
IN THESE E
YOU
Our area community
fundraisers are able to make
unds for “It’s amazing how a present
Help raise f
presentations at your church
projects
or school, either in person or like this can bring a smile
n s f o r m in g remotely. They can help and to someone’s face,” says
life-tra advise you if you’d like to
do some fundraising events
Pastor Mihai Micula who
and can provide resources. distributed shoeboxes in and
around Satu Mare, Romania.
Bridging the Gap Cross 21 bridges in 2021 “Florica was deserted by
her husband and left to look
Brunch for Blythswood after their handicapped son.
Although she is in her
Live Zoom Audience event with three sixties she continues to
Shoe Box Appeal project partners spend all her energy
taking care of him.
Tuesday 28 September
Susi Shears
Southeast England, “We prayed with her and
07823 401081 promised we would continue to Florica spends all her energy taking
the gap be
DGE
tween yo
susi.shears@
blythswood.org
pray for her from that day on.” care of her son who is disabled
and their ung peop
education? le
Shoebox
brightened
Michelle Livingstone
Central & south Scotland
Rebecca’s first
07880 196903
michelle.livingstone@ orphanage
blythswood.org
Christmas
Rebecca lived with her grandmother but when
Andrew M the older woman died last year, the sixteen-year-
Ami Dundas acleod old girl had nowhere to go and so was taken in
You could also do your own challenge and raise funds
by the state orphanage in Satu Mare.
for us as Ami did by canoeing from Fort William to Inverness
and Andrew did by running his first marathon. Elma MacKay “Life is not easy for her, and she was so pleased to
For more details contact fundraising@blythswood.org North Scotland receive a Christmas shoebox,” says shoebox
07876 831175 distributor Mihai Micula. “She loved a notebook she
Find details of all events at elma.mackay@ Your gift was appreciated by Rebecca who received in it.”
www.blythswood.org/events-for-you blythswood.org had recently lost her grandmother
14 Get your shoebox leaflet now – call 01349 830777 Order shoebox leaflets online at www.shoeboxappeal.org 15
Blythswood News - From the Chief Executive
YOUR GIFT IS PRECIOUS!
The ongoing global pandemic “Is it really for me?” Receiving the Lord goes before us in even
has made life difficult for coloured crayons and colouring the simple and practical details
many families at home books was a dream come true of our lives.
and abroad. for Melani and Mercedesz in
north-east Hungary. Hear more Please fill a shoebox this year.
Thanks to your faithful support, about how you made that Your wonderful, generous gifts
we have been able to continue happen on page 8. really do make an impact.
our vital work during the
extended lockdowns, feeding Ismedin was overjoyed when
those in great need. he found a toy, gloves, hat and
sweets in his shoebox. Share in
Blythswood’s 2021 Shoe Box his joy on page 2.
Appeal must go ahead.
Delicious jelly beans and a toy
Your shoebox of essential brought happy smiles to
everyday items is precious Marioara’s face in Sucheava,
and makes a huge difference Romania. Meet Marioara on
in people’s lives. page 3.
Simple gifts like these really are
precious to people in need.
Our Hungary team report “time
after time we have seen people
receive the exact things they
needed, in ways which we
could not plan.” This is a great James Campbell
blessing and demonstrates how Chief Executive
"I will give thanks to you,Lord, with
all my heart. I will tell of all your
wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1
“time after time we have seen
people receive the exact things
they needed, in ways which we
could not plan.” Scan here
to donate
Blythswood Care, Deephaven, Evanton, Ross-shire IV16 9XJ
Tel. 01349 830777 info@blythswood.org www.blythswood.org
Blythswood Care is registered with and regulated by Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR): SC048001 and a
company limited by guarantee: 583493. Registered under Data Protection no. Z7689978. Blythswood Care
is a member of the Evangelical Alliance. Printed on paper manufactured from sustainably managed forestry, using
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God’s earth and reflects this is in the selection and disposal of all materials used in the organisation’s business.
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