“Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with [people] as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, "Follow Me" (Ministry of Healing, p. 143.)
Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD)
Ministering to the Homeless
[Tokyo] Winter refuses to let go its cold, tenacious grip in Northern Asia, but Tokyo International Church is keeping the homeless in their community warm with Sabbath hot lunches. “What a pleasant surprise to find a dozen homeless people who joined us for lunch,” relates Sally Lam-Phoon, NSD WM director, about her recent visit. “I am positive,” she emphasizes, “that through this winter season, the Sabbath hot lunch is appreciated more than at other times.”
The volunteer cook named Sandy, one of the women church leaders who consistently provided the weekly meals for three years, testifies that “God has blessed me, so I’m just sharing the blessing” with the homeless.
The grateful cook reveals the church’s hospitality committee recently began funding and taking responsibility to staff the ministry. Currently, Sandy leads ten to thirty helpers in the kitchen each Sabbath.
“What a joy to see how God speaks to one of His own,” says Sally, “and energizes her to cook for this special group of people week after week!”
Inter-European
Division (EUD)
Ministering to the Less Fortunate
[Bulgaria] Cyril was stunned
to receive his big box of holiday food supplies from Women’s Ministries and
ADRA/Bulgaria. And being one of the last boxes delivered, it didn’t even
contain all items others received. Cyril recites what he found in his box: one
whole turkey, pasta, cheese, yellow cheese (“I’d forgotten 
the taste!”),
lentils, rice, dry fruit, and sweets. “I was able to feed my friends with the
New Year feast; I took the package to another family.” The best part about
sharing the food items is that Cyril didn’t celebrate the holiday alone. “You
created so much joy!” he exclaims.
Advanced in age, poor, lonely, and ill, Cyril is only one of many grateful Roma people of Western Bulgaria, reports Emilia Stoykova, Bulgaria WM director. We minister to the less fortunate, she says, because “there are days throughout the year when poor people feel their poverty and loneliness the most acutely, but they also feel the warmth of human compassion.”
For more than a year, Women’s Ministries has been assisting ADRA in the distribution of clothes, shoes, and tons of food to needy families. Emilia testifies, “The Word proclaims, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ And we experience that to be true.”
