January-February 2002

Christmas 2001: Jeffrey and Paolo at “Dom Turnic” (Senior’s home in  Rijeka)

Rijeka, January 2002

Dear friends,

     Another wonderful Christmas season has ended, but we didn’t want to end without thanking all those of you who have helped our work during this time!

     With the Lord’s help and your contributions, we were able to perform 32 Christmas shows (see below) during the month of December in schools, institutes for the disabled, hospitals, senior’s homes, church theatres, etc.  We have also visited many families and sang Christmas Carols for many lonely people.

     It was really an unforgettable Christmas, in which we were able to share the love of God with many people, some of whom were passing through difficult times in their lives.  We hope and pray that this year to come our work will continue to grow, not only here in Croatia, but in Italy and Bosnia as well.

     With our love and prayers for the New Year,

Your friends

              “PER UN MONDO MIGLIORE”

A New Year’s reflection 

WHAT MATTERS

     A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the100–yard dash. At the gun, they all started out—not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. 

     All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. They all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down’s syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.” All nine linked arms and walked across the finish line together.

     Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still  telling the story. Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What truly matters ln this life is helping others in their race, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

Newsletter no. 12

Dear friends,

It is a challenge these days to tell the seasons one from another, and yet, according to the calendar, springtime is knocking on our door. Even little signs, like a sunny day, or the first green buds, already make us feel better, don’t they? There is something new in the air, something we anticipate with hope.

A wise man once said that even the light of one little candle can be seen from far away in the midst of gross darkness, that is, even a little warmth and hope can light up the world of today.

No matter how evident it might seem that evil is winning, and that the world is coming apart, we are convinced more than ever that only one changed life is worth all of our efforts. This is what you will read about in this issue of our newsletter. Let us all bring a little spring morning freshness to the hearts of those around us, or the ones passing by…

Lidija, could you please tell us a little bit about your life?

Well, I was born on July 7th, 1955, in a small town in the northern part of Croatia. I finished primary and secondary school there, and graduated from university at the age of 24. I was the only child in my family, so in my early stage I was a bit spoiled and unprepared for the many challenges life was about to bring my way.

I married at 27, and had my first son, Dragan, about a year later. My husband and I soon moved to Slovenia, and lived there for a time. I lived in other parts of the country as well – so I had a chance to meet many people of various backgrounds.

I felt like my life was really empty from inside, and at the time I didn’t know what I was missing. My husband and I had a lot of disagreements and misunderstandings, and they resulted in our divorce a few years later. Yet I always wished to have a family; I desperately needed a nice and warm place to call home – and because of that, soon after my divorce I remarried, and gave birth to my second son, Ivan. Unfortunately, later on I realized that I had made a big mistake. I found myself without a job, and disappointed because I hadn’t found what I was looking for in my marriage. I left my husband, took my two kids and moved in with my parents. This period was a particularly difficult part of my life. It was November 1988. Ivan was only a few months old, and again I didn’t have a job. On one hand I was not in a really tight financial situation, but felt deep loneliness inside. In one day I would visit one company after another, trying to find a job, but it seemed impossible. This was shortly before the war started.

What was it like for you during the war?

In the beginning of the war I felt lost. For the first few months no one in my family had any regular income. I experienced hunger for the first time – we couldn’t even buy a litter of milk for the kids. I was forced to go somewhere to find a job – so I went to Germany, and cleaned houses there for four months, in order to support my family. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, so I was trying to find some spiritual guidance through Yoga and Eastern religions. One day, while I was still in Germany, my friend Lily called me up and said I should get back to Croatia right away – there was a job there waiting for me!

What was your reaction when you found out what the job was?

I had found the work of my life! I started doing humanitarian work for UNHCR – my colleagues and I were like a link between UNHCR and the war refugees. I worked for more than 10 hours a day, supplying refugees with material, packages of food, counseling them.

That same year, 1994, I met the Family (ed: “Per un mondo migliore” is an affiliate of the Family). I remember their many smiling faces, and the warm atmosphere around them. Immediately I fell in love with them – it was love at first sight. I started to organize activities for them in our social center.

So you had a chance to witness first-hand the destruction of the war?

Yes, I also traveled to Bosnia, saw a lot of destruction, and heard stories of people’s lives first-hand, who had been refugees, or had spent time in concentration camps, or had lost close relatives. Trying to help those people was a very precious experience for me. At that time I also had very bad dreams and didn’t know how to cleanse myself. I didn’t believe in Jesus – my parents were not believers, my father was a communist and my mom didn’t want to get him in trouble by teaching me Christian values. But I always knew that something does exist, there was a force, something that created the world. Very often I was in a dilemma whether to accept the theory of evolution, or the explanation in the Bible. Also when I was a teenager I liked to read the Bible, though I didn’t understand. One part of my soul belonged to God, but the other part was fighting, because education and my parents had raised me in a different way. It was an inner fight.

When was it that you really found the answer?

I think that it’s very difficult to fix the year or date, but little by little I became a believer. My mind was still full of questions. I didn’t know a lot about the Bible, so my mind was predominant, and I couldn’t answer a lot of my questions. The “Activated” magazine had a great effect on me. I was especially touched by the stories of other common people, who had met Jesus, and then He made their lives better and happier. I also liked the treasures, reflections and “From Jesus with love” (words from Jesus on the last page of each magazine), which is like the second Bible for me. It is real food for your soul. It’s like healing for your wounds.

When I realized the greatness of the Bible, that there is everything in it, every value, when I found the link between the events and prophecies fulfilled about the future, then my mind gave up. I realized that it’s all true. When I realized the power of prayer and the importance of closeness and communication with God, and when miracles started happening in my life, then I finally found myself, and I became what I am now.

Lidija worked for UNHCR and JEN till 1998, and in May 1998 she founded her own association – Udruga “Koraci”. Udruga “Koraci”, with its president Mrs. Lidija Petrovacki, has been working successfully in Rijeka since 1998, offering meaningful spare-time activities to children, teenagers and older adults. Its aim is to provide a better quality of life for people and their families, and to improve and build harmonious relationships between people, and in that way, to achieve an overall improvement of society.

The udruga organizes creative workshops (art and ceramic) for adults, kinder garden and school-age children, and children with delayed mental development. It also cooperates with other NGO’s and is constantly exploring new possibilities for development. The members and visitors of the udruga have an opportunity to meet new people, exchange ideas and opinions, and develop new friendships. The workshops of udruga “Koraci” also give birth to novel and authentic products. They are decorative, and make excellent gifts, valuable souvenirs and memories – and more, by buying one or more of them will help the initiatives of this volunteer association to continue!

You can contact udruga “Koraci” at:Tel./fax: 00385 51 214-400

E-mail: lidija.petrovacki@ri.tel.hr

Or visit them: Udruga “Koraci”, Blaza Polica 2/IV , Rijeka.

By Moselle (17 )

It’s not so easy to describe a typical day here, in Rijeka – maybe because a typical day just doesn’t exist. Every day is different and a special experience in itself, and what you do today will not necessarily mean that you’ll do something similar tomorrow.

Still, let’s take yesterday, as an example, and describe how it went, just to give you an idea of how the activities of the community usually take place.

The day starts at 7:30, as usual, and you have time till 8 o’clock to get up and eat breakfast, before all of us gather in our living room for a moment of prayer and reflection.

Afterwards each one starts working: school time begins, somebody else cleans up the house and cooks the meals. Everyone’s duties are assigned the day before by the schedule-maker, Anna, who takes into consideration the various happenings of the day, and posts the schedule on the fridge in the kitchen for all to see. For example, I’m going out, because together with Paolo and Paloma I teach English in two schools in Rijeka every week (see Paloma’s article on page 8 ) I’m coming back home at 2 o’clock and taking an hour break, before going out with Alexis (our two-year-old girl) to the park.

Anna is in town doing business, while Michael and Maggie are out visiting a lady, one of our dear friends, who is going through a difficult time in her life and needs comfort and encouragement. Jonathan an Mark instead spend the afternoon visiting some young people they met while doing one of our anti-drug programs. The other volunteers of the community are busy with other work: writing and sending mail, gardening, maintenance work etc.

After dinner we are all getting together again for a class – our dear friend Majda, from Rijeka, comes over every week to teach us Croatian. The lights are turned off at 11:30, and all go to bed. The day is over, but many more will follow – thanks to each one of you who helps us continue this work. I hope and pray that in the future we can continue our work together to make this world a better place .

One afternoon near Easter, in the warm springtime weather that northern lands enjoy at this time of year, a teacher gave a large egg to each of her students. She had cracked open and emptied each one. Then she sent them outside to find signs of life and put them inside their eggs.

Soon they returned. In one was a butterfly. In another was an ant. Others contained flowers, twigs, or blades of grass. But one egg had nothing in it.

Everyone knoew whose it was–it belonged to a boy with Down’s syndrome. Some of the kids laughed at him. The teacher asked him why he had not put anyu signs of life in his egg. He said quietly, “Because the tomb was empty.”

That boy knew a profound truth.–Easter is more than a celebration of nature’s springtime life cycle.

The women who went to Jesus’ tomb to anoint His body knew that He was dead. Some of them had seen Him die. They were sure His body was in the tomb. But when they looked for it, it was gone. The tomb was empty!

What had happened? The body had not been stolen. The Roman guards were not playing tricks on them. The women were not imagining it. The tomb was empty because Jesus had risen from the dead.

Yes, Jesus has risen from the dead–a miracle greater than the return of life in springtime. And most amazing of all, He has promised resurrection to all who trust in Him!

–David C. Egner

A question for you.

Would you like to live in the forever, instead of the today? Would you like to see your life as counting for eternity, and not lost in the mishmash of everyday problems and trivia? I know that you do, and Jesus knows that you have a need to reach out beyond the physical, beyond your day-to-day routine, beyond the millions of details of life that would drag you down.

He is reaching out His hand to say, “Il love you, and I am here, and I want to be a part of your life.” Take Him into your heart, won’t you? He will never leave you and He will never let you down. He can forgive all your sins, and even help you to quit falling down in areas where you want to be stronger. He’s just that wonderful!

Please take Jesus today. He loves you and He wants to make your life blossom into all He’s created you to be. He’s the miracle-worker, the problem-solver, the healer–and He is right there for you.

Teaching English with a purpose!

by Paloma

It’s been 4 weeks now since we’ve embarked on our latest project—Forum style English classes in 2 of the schools here—and I think we can all say that it has been a rewarding experience.

In October we had proposed to the director of a school where we have frequently done our shows at about hosting and organizing some free English classes for the 5th to 8th graders.

Our program was this: To have a 6-week course touching on various topics such as Peace, Drugs, Music, etc, in which the students would practice conversing, reading, singing and writing in English. Most of them have a grasp of the English language, but so far are inexperienced in really practicing and using it.

This picture was taken during a project that we did with them which was on the subject of Our Planet. It was different news clippings, articles, pictures and such about different aspects such as: wars, famine and drought, pestilence and plague, pollution, etc. They divided into groups, each covering a different topic, then they made a sort of collage of these articles, and afterwards wrote down a summary in their own words about it.

At first it was a bit hard for a lot of them to start speaking in the forums mainly due to the fact that usually there’s not much conversing done in their classrooms. But after one or two sessions things ran a lot smoother and we didn’t feel like we had to pull a conversation out of them. We are now starting to hold similar seminars in other schools.

 

A big thanks to all of you who recently wrote us! It’s always refreshing and encouraging to receive your correspondence!

“Hi everyone, everything’s going great for us here in Turkey. We’re assisting in a hospital for children with leukemia, and it’s a beautiful experience, because we also involve young people from Turkey in our activities.” (Marco, Stefano and Daniela, Turkey)

“We’re happy and grateful for every one of your visits. We hope to see you soon, and to come and visit you in Rijeka. Please pray for us, especially for grandma and grandpa’s health. God bless you” (Simone and family, Caorle – Italy)

“I always sought to give all of myself to the patients in my center, but now I feel tired out, like I’m lacking the strength to do it over and over again. I’m not one who gives up easily, and always force myself to look at the positive side of things, but I don’t succeed all the time, and that’s discouraging for me. But things will get better, and like you always tell me, I need to trust the Lord. Lots of love and greetings, (Bruna, director of Home for senior citizens – Labin, Croatia)

To give is an investment

by Paolo

A few months ago we began working with young people from Rijeka, who are interested in participating in our volunteer activities. We meet once every week to pray together, read the Bible and discuss new projects. For example, during carnival time (in February), we did animation in two Homes for senior citizens. There, besides doing the show and animation, we went room by room to visit those who couldn’t attend because of sickness or disability.

In one of those Homes (Dom Turnic in Rijeka), we just spent a few days together with the young people painting three of the rooms. Everyone was very happy and grateful for our help!

Some people just couldn’t believe that we came to work there free of charge, and were shocked to find out that local young people offered their help to the needy. We explained to them that the greatest joy comes from giving, not from receiving, and that if we want to be happy we need to find a way to make others happy. We also struck up a friendship with a lot of new people.

Our next appointment is for the month of April when we will help organize and plant the garden of the the same Dom Turnic.

A warehouse storing arms exploded in Lagos, Nigeria at the end of January, around 30 km from the location of Sean & Lara’s apartment. Hundreds died after the explosion, and the damage was great. Lara sent a message immediately, assuring us that they were alright: “… today we went to the zone of great danger, to bring aid to the people who need it most desperately. While we were there distributing, in the space of one-and-a-half hours, 15 bombs exploded – all within about 500/600m from where we were. I wasn’t scared, though, strangely enough, because I trust we are in the Lord’s hands.

We’re continuing to distribute aid, comfort and pray with the people who suffered in this tragedy. Please pray for us…”

Our boys downstairs finally have a bigger room! After a year of construction work we finally got a room of about 30 square meters, and that also helps us to accommodate you better when you come over to visit!

Francesco went to Vobarno (Brescia) in January to do his civil service. Besides fulfilling his obligations at his workplace, he is using his experience learned from the work here in Croatia, and organizing activities at various rehab centers in the vicinity. We nevertheless feel his absence!

Davide, a volunteer-friend, and musician with a lot of experience, came to visit us for a few days and assist us in the production of a CD with some of our songs – a project we have thought of completing for years. Soon coming to your PA system!

Virginia made it to Brazil! She’s getting used to her new environment, and is learning to communicate in Portuguese. Please pray for her.

We are extremely grateful for every contribution, big or small, that helps us continue to commit our energies to needy situations. We are not a great organization, but for this reason nothing is lost in red tape and beaurocracy. We are available 24 hours a day to help our neighbor, and are also involving other young people from Croatia and Italy, to whom we have given hospitality and training for longer or shorter periods. A lot of friends or acquaintances ask, “But how do you manage to continue?”, and we reply: “Well, thanks to people like you and your willingness to help!”

In every newsletter we try to make a list of our more immediate needs, but please do not feel strictly confined to that list. A lot of friends pledge monthly or periodical support – a donation they transfer to our bank account in Italy or Croatia. Others give us hospitality when we come on trips to Italy, yet others donate food, clothes, even toiletries and cleaning supplies. Some fix our vehicles for free, develop our photos, print our newsletter… and here we lack space to tell of all the little and big acts of kindness (even from only a few months back) that help us go on. Thank you all, and of course, thank God for His help and blessing!

The older one of our two vans, after years of faithful service is about to give up. So in order for us to continue working efficiently, we need another vehicle, preferably a van or minibus. We do not have the funds to buy one at this point, and that is why we’re making this need known.

Some other needs are: tents (for our summer activities), long lasting food products, office materials, a video recorder for our community, and a new computer. Thank you again, and God bless you!

Newsletter No. 13

Dear Friends,

Summer is finally here – synonymous with sunny days, new adventures and friendships!

We, in our community, are getting ready for our summer activities. In this issue of our newsletter we’ll describe our various initiatives, in which maybe some of you, too, are interested in participating…

The foundation of it all is the tried and proven principle: “If you want to be happy, make someone else happy”, “it’s more blessed to give than to receive”, and “give, and it shall be given unto you.”

We wish you a happy summer – not only a pursuit of pleasure, but one full of emotion and true happiness!

My name is Simone. I’m 22 and come from Caorle, a little coastal town near Venice, Italy. I spent the last three years looking for answers to some of life’s major questions, but only bounced like a ball on the waves of the world’s currents. I was fond of writing, and once in a while managed to write something good, and other times a batch of words only good to be thrown away…

I found a temporary job working for the military. I searched out and talked with writers, but it turned out they weren’t the people I was looking for… after a while I began smoking and taking light drugs. I finished the civil service (I was a companion for a blind person in my town), and then found a more permanent job as an electrician. I tried hard to quit the smoking and drugs, experimenting with different methods, like reducing my intake, and others. I felt inside of me the need to change: maybe it would come with the advent of the New Year? Well, New Year’s Eve rolled around, and I was still the same – same longings, same habits. Some time in the middle of January, while I was sitting alone smoking, and pitying myself, surrounded by a slew of mundane problems, I saw a “vision” of the earth with little villages sprawled around in the distance, all pervaded by an atmosphere of peace and love: maybe a dream, but could it one day become reality? In February 2000 I got a better job for a stronger firm, and my new company of friends was more united than ever, yet something was still lacking in my life. I bought a book on Buddhism, and waded through it, but its pages didn’t bring me to any conclusion. Then I got an idea to buy a new car, and to be able to pay for it, I found a second job. In spite of my parents’ numerous admonitions to get a car that’s not too expensive, I wanted to choose and do it all on my own. So the price of the car was 30,000,000 lira! “I’ll pay it off, don’t you worry, I give you my word.” I still had my habit of smoking, didn’t find a way to quit. My boss even demoted me because of that. It was at my new workplace that I met Danilo, with whom I struck up a special friendship. One day he talked to me about Jesus and prayer, and I started to open up and talk to him as if he were my brother. Once while I was driving, I remember, tears started streaming down my face, because I hadn’t prayed for 15 years. The Lord was slowly changing my heart: I began to listen to my parents and grandparents more, didn’t talk back so much, and showed them a lot more love and attention. New year’s Eve of 2000/2001 is when I smoked my last cigarette! Now I’m still working, I put the car out for sale, and I have an earnest desire in my heart to serve the Lord and my neighbor.

P.S.  After a few short visits during the year, Simone came to stay with us in Rijeka about a month ago, and is experiencing a deeper life, learning the practical meaning of living for others instead of himself.

The idea of visiting Lekenik (a small town in the area of Zagreb) was born about a month ago, when some friends from Rijeka told us: “We’ve collected aid and materials for the SOS children’s village in Lekenik, but don’t have any way to transport it. So we thought, why don’t you guys go, seeing that’s a part of your mission, and besides, you can also do a show and bring a touch of God’s love to the children?”

Sure, we were all glad to hear that – but hadn’t considered an extra trip in our budget that month. It would have to be a two-day trip, with other activities organized in the area as well, in addition to the visit in Lekenik. We discussed different ideas for raising the funds, and then committed the need to the Lord in prayer.

The night following the discussion and prayer, a message in our e-mail box read: “…I just wanted to tell you that on the day of my first communion I got a lot of gifts and money. I wanted to give half of the money to your group, so you can do something for some orphan children…” The message was from Federiko (12, from Italy); and he had no way of knowing what our plans were.

Well, Someone else did have a way of knowing – whose ways are ever so unsearchable, and who blesses all earnest desire on our part to help our neighbor. So thanks to Him, and of course, to Federiko, the son of our dear friends in Italy, our expedition brought a lot of joy and hope to the children and staff of the SOS village. They all pleaded with us to return soon, and to perform for the teenagers as well. We gladly agreed, and are returning to Lekenik in June with an anti-drug program for the teens, and more activities for the children.

It was only the beginning of promising cooperation and friendship.

 

 

During the month of May we returned to the Home for senior citizens Dom Turnic (where some months ago we painted 4 rooms, with the help of young people from Rijeka – see NL 12). This time we worked to cultivate a garden around the building. We transported soil to the garden, levelled the ground, cleaned and tidied up the area, and prepared it for future planting.

Those were a few days of hard work done with joy – knowing that afterwards our dear friends from the Home would look outside and smile. The young volunteers from Rijeka came to help again this time, and even some of the old people joined in and worked hand in hand with us!

The last day of working together was rainy, and we all got muddy and wet. After a united photo as a remembrance of the day (the director of Dom Turnic included), we took showers and changed clothes inside the Home. Some of us hadn’t brought a change of clothes, so a few of the old people kindly lent us theirs to use for the day: hence Mark got his “new look”.

In May this year, exactly one year after the Meeting of Solidarity took place in Rovereto, representatives of the senior citizens’ Home in Rovereto came for an exchange visit to “Koraci” association in Rijeka. (See NL 9)

Lidija (see NL 12, pgs. 2&3) and her colleagues received Ferruccio Andreatta, Padre Samuele, Suor Fernanda and Marilena with warmth and hospitality. The visit only lasted a few hours, and yet was rich in friendly conversation, fun, excitement, and moments for future reflection and reminiscence.

It brings all of us genuine fulfillment to note that our friendship is becoming closer, and that our bond of love only gets stronger with time.

A question people often ask is: ” But how do you manage to take care of so many teeenagers in your community? I just have one and he drives me crazy”.

I admit that these days it’s not easy to be a parent, or a teacher, or a youth counsellor. But it isn’t easy to be a young person either in such a materialistic society, where values at one time considered fundamental are now just optional, with so few positive role models and so much confusion and hypocrisy.

Being all agree on the above, the only solution would be to just get busy, reduce to the minimum the generational gap with lots of love, understanding, tolerance from both parts, and most of all try to find common points and work together towards some worthwhile goal. I’d say this is what helps us to live together, to get along not just amongst adults, teens and kids,but to also break down barriers between young people coming from different countries and backgrounds. Not just to “get along” but to have fun together, learning from the experience of others, and in so doing to become better adults and better young people.

After reaching the famous “forties” my life took a new turn: I owe much of this positive change to the very fact that everyday I have the priceless privilege to work alongside some wonderful , energetic, enthusiastic and dedicated young people. Some of them didn’t “exactly” fit this description a couple of years ago, but it was then that the Lord gently reminded me how myself didn’t fare that well as a teen…and that inside so many rough and rebellious looking young people could be hidden a tremendous potential, some precious jewel. If you look for it, and help it to develop.

The following true story well describes this concept.

      LOVE: THE ONE CREATIVE FORCE

By Eric Butterworth, Chicken Soup for the soul

A college professor had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get histories of 200 young boys. They were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future. In every case the students wrote, “He hasn’t got a chance.”

Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors and businessmen.

The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, “How do you account for your success?” In each case the reply came with feeling, “There was a teacher.”

The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement.

The teacher’s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. “It’s really very simple,” she said. ” I loved those boys.”

SOMEHOW I KNEW THIS WAS THE END OF MY LIFE

By Majda Lesić

(Ed: Our friend Majda is from Rijeka. She has two daughters and works as a tourist guide. Below is a short version of the story of the change she recently experienced in her life, which she wrote with a hope that it will be an encouragement and inspiration to you.)

All my life I’ve been trying to find something that will last,

that will bring joy no matter how everything else around me was going. I had a very nice family, and somehow, all of a sudden everything started to go wrong. The business started to go down, and there was a breaking of communications inside my family. I tried very hard to make things better. First of all, I wanted to be calm and loving, but instead of that, inside I had fear, anxiety and sorrow. I tried Yoga, I tried to understand myself better through Buddhism, I learned a lot of techniques to relax my brain, to feel stronger, not to feel so alone. I read a lot of nice books on self-help, self-control, etc., and it used to help, but only for a while. In the meantime, my family business went bankrupt; I got separated from my husband, and began living alone with my two daughters.

All of this was going on while my country was afflicted by war.

It was in 1994 that by chance (I know now that nothing happens by chance), I got a job for UNHCR and my work was connected with helping refugees in my town. It was a great experience. From UNHCR I went to work for JEN, a Japanese humanitarian organization involved in projects for refugees as well. During that time I started to pray a lot – it was very funny, because I didn’t know how to pray. I’m a Christian, but my parents were not people who used to go to church. I got married in church, though, but was not familiar with the church way of praying. So I just prayed on my own. I used to just simply ask God to help me with this or that problem. During my time of working for the humanitarian organization I also met “The Family” (Per un mondo migliore), and liked them at first sight. We used to work together, and I used to talk with Michael very often. Many times at my place, alone in my bed, I thought how it must be nice to live the way they did. It sounded very close to me somehow. A little more than a year ago I felt a deep hunger inside of me for something – I didn’t even know what it was at the time. Following this sensation, a comforting feeling overwhelmed me: that something in my life will be totally changed forever. I couldn’t tell what it would be, but that feeling continued to live in my heart.

Then I had a car accident.

My car went off the road and I fell into the sea. I was unconscious, and when I woke up, I felt the water in my mouth and up my nose: somehow I knew that this was the end of my life. Then, all of a sudden, as someone was talking to me without a voice, I was instructed to swim through a little part of a broken back window of the car, and in that very moment I knew that it was a miracle – a miracle of God’s love and mercy. And then I knew it: this was the feeling that I’d had, of some crucial change coming in my life. Then I opened my heart to Jesus.

Life goes on, and there are always problems;

but now I know that He is always with me.

With the help of the people from “Per un mondo migliore” I am learning how to come closer to Him, how to pray and how to praise Him for each breath of my life. And I’m really happy to have people around me who live His Word. I feel safe, being able always to ask them to pray with me, and to pray for other people in need, and I can only say, “Thank you, Lord, that You’re always around, even when I feel so far away from You. Thank you for keeping Your infinite love in my heart.”

It’s always a pleasure to receive your letters. Here is what some of you wrote during the last couple of months:

“Thank you for doing what you’re doing – the most beautiful words to hear are peace, love and friendship. I wish you could spread these to a lot of people. I don’t even know you, but in your signatures I see your happy faces, animated by hope and faith. Keep doing what you’re doing! A warm embrace to all of you.” (Lorena – Vobarno, Brescia)

“Thank you for the beautiful day we spent together in the hospital of Negrar, I really liked it a lot. I like feeling close to you – and prayers arrive even faster than e-mail, don’t they? May God bless you every second and every millimetre of your path.” (Massimo, Villafontana di Bovolone, Verona)

“I really admire what you and your friends are doing – I think that people like you bring hope not only to the children and people you help, but to the whole world. Our society, entrapped in its own interests and selfishness, is getting worse by the day, becoming more and more blind and arrogant. Thank God that people like you exist, who are able to give their lives for those in need.

When you came to the hardware store, and invited Stefano and I to say this little prayer, so simple and true, I had a hard time holding back my emotions. When we said goodbye to each other, and I saw you walking away in the rain, by yourself, a warm feeling overwhelmed my heart. Much love to all of you” (Bruno, Verona)

If you’re lonely, you’re not alone! Many people today are lonely, especially in cities, where life has been aptly described as “millions of people being lonesome together.” Just living in the middle of a lot of people wont necessarily relieve loneliness, because loneliness comes from being insulated from others, not only isolated. And sad to say, it is often self-inflicted. People build walls around themselves instead of bridges. So what is the “cure” for loneliness? Loving others! Consider this true story:

There once was a very lonely woman who was always seeking a new lover, but never finding one that satisfied or lasted or that relieved her loneliness. Why? Because she was always seeking to get love, to be loved! Then one day a friend suggested that perhaps she needed to learn to give love unselfishly for the benefit of another. After years of searching, this thought struck the woman as an entirely new idea! She went out and tried to find someone to make them happy, and soon found what she had been looking for all the time—true love!

So that’s the key, the simple solution to loneliness: If you give love, you’ll get love! If you’re sincerely concerned about others and show them love, they’ll be concerned about you and show you love.  (* from “Activated” magazine Issue 4)

SUMMER PROJECTS

We’re finishing preparations for the new anti-drug program for teens, which we’ll perform for various schools and institutions here in Croatia before the closing of the school year.

During the summer season our center is open more than ever to those who want to come for a visit, or experience an original vacation, using their time and energies to help their neighbor.

We’re organizing a camp for young people, similar to last year’s, in our community in Rijeka, during the week of 14th to 20th of July. There are even new attendees added to the group of last year!

During the month of August we’ll be organizing 2 camps for teenagers – a volunteer training program.

We’ll participate for the 4th consecutive year in the notorious “Festa della Luna”, drug festival for young people from all over Italy. We’ll offer counsel and lend a listening ear to those who want help… we’re still in touch with some young people we met at that festival some of the previous years. A little bit of love can go a long way!

Our dear trainee and colleague Virginia is still in Brazil and is doing well. We keep in touch with her by e-mail, and she informs us of her activities. “Brazil is a beautiful place,” she writes, “now autumn is finally starting. Here life seems to be heavenly. For example, in our neighborhood there are a lot of young people, and during the week, and on weekends, you see them all playing in the middle of the street with their bare feet… kids chasing each other… When it gets really hot, and then all of a sudden it starts raining, rivers and waterfalls form in the streets; and then, instead of seeing people run back inside their houses, you see them rushing out to take a fresh shower under the rain. Kids have a lot of fun, especially when it’s been the hottest I went to join in on the united shower too!

Of course, there is also the negative side, there is a lot of poverty, but I assure you that even the poorest don’t ever complain, they’re content with the little they have…”

Sean and Lara are still involved in their volunteer work in Nigeria. They send a special greeting and express their appreciation to the members of “Koraci”, who, in spite of the difficult economic situation here in Croatia, have decided to set aside a dollar a month each for the needy in Nigeria.

We finished the third set of seminars in school “Gelsi”, Rijeka. The students and the director of the school were all satisfied with the program. The last seminar in particular, on the theme of drugs, was a real success!

As you probably already know, our association is able operate full-time due to the help of many.

We’re grateful for all help, big or small, that allows us to continue dedicating our energies to needy situations. We’re not an enormous organization, and for that reason none of the support we receive is lost in intermediate beaurocracy. We’re serving our neighbour 24 hours a day, as well as endeavoring to involve other young people from Italy and Croatia in our activities. We’ve received many visitors in our own house, some for a couple of days, others for more extended periods of time. Many marvel: “How do you manage to continue?” Well, the answer is simple: “Because of your help, too!”

At the end of each newsletter, we list our more immediate needs – but please do not feel confined exclusively to those. Many friends give monthly, or periodical donations through our bank account. Some give us hospitality while we’re on trips. Others donate food, clothes, even cleaning supplies. Yet others fix our vehicles for free, develop photos, print our newsletters… and here we lack the space to describe all the little and big deeds of kindness that make our work possible. Thank you all, and thank God, too, for His blessing!

A special thank-you, from all our heart, goes to Michelle Crugnale and the committee of CRIED, Canada,

Thanks also to dr. Tajana Bandera, Zoran Jukica and dr. Melita Vicevic; Zeljko Mrljak and Mljekara “KIM” – Karlovac;

And, of course to our faithful regular supporters: Mira Lucic & Lovor trade, Jusici, pekara “Adria” in Zamet, pekara “Panin” in Viskovo, and Josip & Dorina Mandic – Peradarska farma, Veli Brgud.

Our old van finally left us, and we’ve been looking for a new one. Some of our other needs are: long-lasting food, office supplies, ventilators, a large dining room table and  chairs.

Newsletter No. 14

Dear Friends,

    Here we are, getting in touch with you again – after a summer of unusual weather conditions, yet rich in activities and fulfilling experiences. Trips, meetings, visits… And I still don’t think many of us are ready to face the winter, which seems to have come so suddenly upon us.

We continue to discuss the weather that we can’t predict, and the common ailment of our days that accompanies gloomy winter days – depression. In a world with unstable weather and values, is it not imperative to seek out some absolutes? – Find peace in the midst of a storm, something to believe in, a happiness that comes from inside, based on our faith instead of the circumstances — a safe pathway through a world of confusion?

It is our hope that the following pages will help you find that inner peace and faith. We’ll be waiting to hear from you! You are always in our hearts and prayers.

With love,

Anna and “Per un Mondo Migliore”

Friendship is in the heart

There is a 500 km distance between RIjeka (Croatia), and Brescia (Northern Italy), and the borders of a third country to cross. If you lived in Rijeka, and barely knew that the town of Brescia existed, much less had any acquaintances there, would you venture out on a trip to explore new territory and strike up new friendships? A couple of Croatian girls did last month, and came back to Rijeka with a song on their heart and a wish to return soon for another visit.

Danijela Burina and Irena Marcekic (from “Koraci” association, RIjeka) came with us to a Catholic youth club in Villaggio Violino (Brescia, Italy), and organized a week-long art and ceramic workshop for the children and young people in the village. If you have read some of our previous newsletters, both “Villaggio Violino”, and “Koraci” association must ring a bell. Last year in September we painted a mural-poster “What everybody needs is love” in Villaggio Violino, involving the young people from the club led by the Catholic priest don Flavio. We painted another mural this time. “Koraci” association in Rijeka, and our association “Per un mondo migliore” have been cooperating since the founding of “Koraci” in 1998.

An open meeting was held on the first night of the event for all the attendees and guests, and we all introduced ourselves and the activities of our associations, asked and answered questions, and sang a couple of songs together – in two languages, so we all could understand and be united. Irena (who is from Sarajevo) described life during the siege of her hometown, and Danijela recounted some of the difficulties of living in Croatia after the war. During the singing Paolo lost his voice, and Danijela found herself singing in front of everybody all alone (for the Croatian part of the song “Peace in the midst of the storm”) – a first in her life! Her performance turned out so well-appraised that she repeated it for a couple different audiences!

Over forty children and young people in Brescia developed their creativity during the first week of September, under the tutelage of Irena and Danijela; and what’s no less important, they had a chance to meet new friends from a far away town, and a far away country. We, volunteers from “Per un mondo migliore”, helped everyone understand each other, and built a bridge once again between our associates in Croatia, and those in Italy.

 

A WEEK-END AWAY FROM IT ALL!

The second weekend of September (13-15th) we organized a get-together for some of our close friends from Rijeka and the surroundings. The goal of the event was to offer people a time of physical rest and spiritual renewal, away from the noise and routine of their busy lives in the city. We stayed in a Mountain villa in Delnice, and from there went out for excursions to lakes and mountains. We had inspiring times of talking and singing together, and seminars on the theme of “helping change the world around us”. Even our mealtimes together were an unusual event for most, and we all enjoyed each other’s company. Here are a few comments from those who were able to come:

“My name is Danijela, from Rijeka. I just wanted to say that this has been a wonderful weekend, that we enjoyed a great time together. It was a real holiday, yet not only a holiday – it was challenging and refreshing, and gave us strength to keep going.”

“My name is Irena Marcekic. I’ve lived in Rijeka for the last seven years of my life. I met “The Family” (Per un mondo migliore) about a year ago and have already participated in some of their activities several times. As far as these last three days we spent together, I can only say that it was wonderful. My wish is that such get-togethers take place more often, that we see each other more often, because this is the way that communication is born between people, and this is how we can help each other.”

Marija Kert: “I was the oldest of all – easily could have been everyone’s mom. I spent three beautiful days, inspired by the Lord, with His blessing upon us. We went for a fun excursion, and I realized that even with young people one can find a word in common.”

These reactions compel us to plan more events of this kind in the future. As we are foreigners here, through these and other traning seminars we are hoping to form a group of local people who will carry on with our mission long after we ourselves are gone.

We organized three youth camps during the month of July and August – each of them a week long. The purpose was to give these young people an experience of doing volunteer work, and to inspire them to volunteer in the future.

Over 100 friends from Italy and other countries in Western Europe visited our center from July to September this year. Some came for a few days, others for a week or more. Included below in “Mail Box” are a few of their reactions.

Four of our volunteers travelled to other towns to explore new possibilities of expanding our work – they reached Rovinj, Pula, and the islands of Cres and Losinj. There they met with school directors and youth activists, and booked shows for the children, and a drug-awareness program for the teenagers. Our long-term goal here again is to involve local people in volunteer work, and to train them to carry on even when we are away.

A radio and a TV station in Treviso (Italy) aired a program about the activities of our association, as an attempt to promote our work and motivate others to join our efforts. The TV program was 20 minutes long – it was an interview with Paolo and Anna, who represented our association on this occasion. The TV and the radio program reached over 250,000.(See photo on pg.6)

MY LIFE STORY

Muha is from the town of Mostar in Bosnia and Hercegovina. We met him in 1996 on the day we performed at the orphanage he called his home. He visited our community in Mostar soon after our first meeting, and kept coming over often. His lifestory is not unusual for an average young person in Bosnia; though most of us, citizens of the peaceful part of the world, might find it astounding. One day while walking through town, he was wounded by shrapnel from a shell that exploded nearby. That shell killed his friend, and wounded Muha’s right leg, when he was only 14 years old. (see newspaper article above)

He would have lost his leg hadn’t he been flown to London immediately, where a successful operation saved it. Later he came back to Bosnia for act two of the oddyssey…

Muha visited our community regularly during the war, and worked together with us on many projects while we were in Mostar; but in recent years we had lost contact, partly because of the distance between us, and partly because of Muha’s troublesome life after the war.

One night (during the month of August this year), Muha phoned and said he’d be passing through Rijeka to see us! Weren’t we flabberghasted, as if we’d seen a lightning out of a clear sky! Only 2 days later he showed up at our door. He stayed for two weeks, and since the first day became a part of our family. We prayed, read and worked together, and visited other refugee families in the area. His example of love and forgiveness for those who had hurt him changed many hearts, especially those of some refugees who had suffered similar traumas.

“To the person who fired that shell I wish all the best in his life”, he would say, sincerely, to the dumb-founded group of listeners.

If more people, like Muha, would sow peace, love and forgiveness in their daily interaction with others, the peace in this troubled former war-zone would last. Below is the story of his life, in his own words:

I was born May 1st, 1979 in Mostar. My mother died while giving me birth, and because my father was working in Iraq at the time, even though I was only three days old, my uncle brought me to the orphanage in Sarajevo. I was 7 or 8 when I finally learned the meaning of the word “family.” During the first 12 years of my life I saw my father, brother and sister only 6 times, and visited home 3 times.

Then in 1992, when the war began in Sarajevo, my brother helped me to escape to Mostar to my uncle’s house. I was able to leave on the last train that day. Later I saw on the news that all the other trains before me that day had been destroyed.

Having been raised in an orphanage with 200 other children, I wasn’t used to life in a normal family: when war broke out in Mostar, we had to flee our home. After the bombing had ended, only my sister and I decided to return home.

We walked many kilometers for several days through the woods to arrive there—totally exhausted. For some time I stayed with an older man in the valley near Mostar.

When the bombing ended, we returned to Mostar with the rest of the civilian population where we were relocated to the sports center of town. Then the shooting started—the 9th of May 1993 at 5:00 am, and continued for 4 days! Some time later, my sister and I lived for some time together in an apartment. She became engaged to a solder that helped us tremendously and made it possible for us to survive the war.

Some time later, while walking in town with a friend, a shell exploded nearby. My friend died, and my leg was seriously injured. I was hospitalized for some time, and then transferred to Zenica, a town in central Bosnia. It was a very difficult time for me, even if in a certain sense it was a time for me to learn lessons about life. Then the war ended.

I learned how to survive through war, but didn’t know what love or kindness meant. It is very difficult living alone without a family, other than my friends in Croatia, and it is very to keep out of trouble. I am ready to once again change my life I know with God’s help, I shall. After all those years of war and the very difficult years that resulted, I don’t want to waste my life! I want to learn about God and His Word and the true values of faith—that peaceful place where my soul can find rest!

We participated again this year in “Festa della Luna” – the youth drug festival that takes place every summer near Colere, Bergamo – another opportunity to lend a listening ear, and deepen our friendship with some of the young people we’d met the previous years. There were 30 of us volunteers, confronted with the other 6-7000 participants in the festival. At the closing of the “Festa” we sent the following letter to the editor of the local newspaper “L’eco di Bergamo”:

“We appreciate the articles that your newspaper publishes every year in regards to the notorious “Festa della Luna”, taking place on the last week-end of the month of July in Colere. The articles usually comprise commentaries on the use of drugs, on vices and addictions, and on actions taken by the police. We’re moved by a desire to introduce another side, a touch more positive than the ones mentioned above. As a volunteer association, for the 4th consecutive year we have made it our duty to set up a counseling post in the middle of the festival, and for the three days (and nights!) of the duration of the festival we camp out together with the young people, lending a helping hand to those who want to be rid of their addiction. You ask, but how do you manage to find common language with such people? – Well, we do, by becoming one with them in appearance, picking up guitars and singing, and acting out skits with a meaning; by proposing other outlets for their rebellious nature (I am a rebel for the right cause! – What about you?), and by being convinced ourselves that real love can solve the worst problems; by offering counsel from some of our personal experiences (yes, because some of us in the past also have tried to get high on drugs); by seeking to share the example of Jesus, who came to heal the sick, not those who did not need a doctor.

Many young people stop by our tents to listen, reflect, and even to pray. Some we meet again later, and continue corresponding with them while we are away. Others have not come to the festival since we met, because they’d found something better. And instead of throwing their life away, now they give it in service to others. We thought these few facts might also deserve your attention…”

Istead of our usual “MailBox” column, this month we decided to include excerpts from notes and messages left by those who visited us during this summer. We encourage everyone who visits to write up their reaction or impression in a ‘visitors log.’

Here are some of the many:

“Thank you for your warm hospitality. There is a different atmosphere here–full of peace and serenity. Perhaps it is because you all follow Jesus! (But I’m quite young, and am still learning about these things) Many thanks and a warm embrace.”(Brunetta and Andrea, Brescia).

“The moment of departure has arrived…such a shame, it was so nice visiting you. Cleaning the house was even easier due to the group spirit and God’s spirit here. I will come again and I hope one of these times I will join you in your work! God bless.” (Da Simone, Lugo- Ravenna)

I’m really happy to have met you. There’s happiness, joy and love everywhere around you! Thank you for making our lives more beautiful! (Morana – Matulji)

Dear friends, the joy, love and happiness that you emanate fills all hearts around you. Just keep going, because people like you are very rare, and this is why your existence is such a blessing. I’m privileged and grateful to know you. Love you all, Alis (from Rijeka)

 

GET ACTIVATED!

Last week we called a friend who had bought one of our books from the “Get Actived” series called “Obstacles Are for Overcoming.” He had loaned it to a friend who was passing a rather difficult time in his life. He said his friend was so enthusiastic about the book that he carries it always with him, and had still not returned it after three months. It helped him so much that he constantly talks with his friends about it!

Here are a couple of the books, if you’d like to order from us:

The Kindness Catalyst

The man had just been released from prison after serving a three-year sentence for embezzlement. Back in his hometown of Darlington, England, for the first time, he braced himself for the ostracism he expected to receive.

On his first morning out, he and Darlington’s mayor, John Morel, happened to pass on the street. “Hello,” said the mayor in a cheerful tone. “I’m glad to see you! How are you?” The other man appeared ill at ease, and the conversation ended in an awkward silence.

Years later, Mr. Morel and the other man-by this time an upstanding and productive citizen-met in another town. “I want to thank you for what you did for me when I came out of prison,” the man said.

“What did I do?” asked the mayor.

“You spoke a kind word to me that changed my life,” replied the grateful man.

Sure Cure

One morning as a nurse was walking to work, she noticed a frail, stooped, elderly man hurrying in the same direction. She wondered where he was going in such a hurry at such an hour, and whether it was safe for him to be out alone considering his obviously declining physical state

. Later that day, the nurse was surprised to see the same old man walking down a corridor in the large hospital where she worked. It turned out that he was not there for treatment, as she first supposed, but had come to cheer and help others.
The two talked, and the old man told her that several months earlier, while sitting home alone with only his aches and pains for company, he had had an unexpected and unusual thought: How much better it would be to get out and do something. Surely there were others worse off than him, whom he could help.
He had acted on that thought, gone to the hospital, and offered to work as a volunteer. By the time this nurse met him, he had already been coming two mornings each week to help in whatever way he could. He enjoyed interacting with the staff, the patients and their families, and had a lot to give them in the way of colorful stories and wizened advice from a lifetime of ups and downs. By helping others, he had been able to forget his own health problems; and in givi ng of himself, he had found a new lease on life.

Outgoing Love

Show genuine love and concern for people, and you won’t have a hard time winning friends. People can’t help but be drawn to a person with a loving demeanor. People who like others are the people others like. When you follow the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you,” people will be drawn to you like bees to honey. Sooner or later, they’ll respond in kind. That’s one of the perks of knowing and loving Jesus, and of following His Golden Rule

(from Love’s Many Faces)

.

THANK YOU………. We are extremely grateful for every contribution, big or small, that helps us continue to commit our energies to needy situations. We are not a great organization, but for this reason nothing is lost in red tape and beaurocracy. We are available 24 hours a day to help our neighbor, and are also involving other young people from Croatia and Italy, to whom we have given hospitality and training for longer or shorter periods.

A lot of friends or acquaintances ask, “But how do you manage to continue?”, and we reply: “Well, thanks to people like you and your willingness to help!”

In every newsletter we try to make a list of our more immediate needs, but please do not feel strictly confined to that list. A lot of friends pledge monthly or periodical support – a donation they transfer to our bank account in Italy or Croatia.

Others give us hospitality when we come on trips to Italy, yet others donate food, clothes, even toiletries and cleaning supplies. Some fix our vehicles for free, developour photos, print our newsletter… and here we lack space to tell of all the little andbig acts of kindness (even from only a few months back) that help us go on. Thank you all, and of course, thank God for His help and blessing!

We would like to thank all of you who have contributed towards a new van–we are happy to announce that we have finally found one and purchased it. Special Thanks to Bruno and Guillermina from Verona for their generous donations! Without all of your help, we couldn’t have made it!

Special thanks goes out this month to Michelle Crugnale, and the women from the Canadian Charity C.R.I.E.D. who continue to support us. We are very grateful for all your help, both financially and materially. Through travelling with you on terrain, many new doors have opened for us for which we are thankful. Hoping to see you again soon!

Our present needs are….

– canned goods

– school and office supplies

– a television

– microphones…