----------
From: Fr. Nektarios Serfes
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 11:52 PM
Subject: It's Freezing in Kosovo and Metohija, & our Christian warm love is needed!
IC|XC
NI|KA
11 November 2004
Press Release
Decani Monastery Relief Fund USA
It's Freezing in Kosovo and Metohija, and our Christian warm love is needed please!
More then 12,500 people in these regions are in the need of food
Dear Friends In Christ Our Lord,
May the great peace and love of our Lord God always be with you! Now that it's the month of November the weather in the regions of Kosovo and Metohija is getting severe, especially at night, and many people are freezing, as a matter of fact thousands are cold now, and in the need of our assistance and warm Christian love. It will get even colder as the days proceed, as we know well what the months are like in November, December, January, and February. We simply put up our heat and light our fire places to be kept warm.
No heat or fire places to be kept warm in Kosovo and Metohija at this hour for thousands and thousands of families! As a matter of fact 12,500 families need fire wood and food at this hour!
We need to assist those in Kosovo and Metohija to help provide families, and the elderly with fire wood. We can well imagine thousands of people do not even have proper shelter, as so many homes have been damaged, we must not forget that 10,000 homes where destroyed since the war began, then again more homes where destroyed again in March 2004, and we must realize not that many homes have been repaired, people are still living in deplorable situations. Many Serbian citizens have not been allowed to return back to their homes since they where destroyed as of 17 March 2004, and we ask the question why?
Their is a way to help those in need of fire wood and with food: our Christian love and warmth!
Day by day the temperature drops, and what a blessing it is for us ourselves to put up our heat and kept warm in hour homes. This is not the situation in Kosovo and Metohija!
No heat to put up in these regions, and what heat? Fire wood is needed please to help these thousands of families kept warm! My goodness the children, and my goodness the elderly will freeze! So many people are hungry and now cold freezing! Then again how shall these people in Kosovo and in Metohija eat and have the proper daily food provisions. What food provisions, as these provisions are being depleted day by day, and hour by hour! Within a few months from now their will be no food available! The question we have to ask is how often do those in desperate need eat? Once a day, and perhaps every other day? Then again the parents do not eat as much to save any food provided for their children, and for the elderly!
How can anyone even afford to obtain fire wood to keep their families warm, and what about the elderly since their income is truly limited. We know for a fact that many elderly do not receive their full pension, and sometimes wonder will they get their pension this month?
The Decani Monastery wants to help so many in need to help these families, and elderly obtain fire wood, as well as help with provisions with food, and we can help by helping please the Decani Monastery Relief Fund. The monks of the Decani Monastery will rush to assist those in need for fire wood, no matter what the conditions might be at the hour surrounding them, as they would even give their own lives to help those in desperation at this hour. This in itself is true Christianity, caring and helping others in need of fire wood, and those who simply need food!
Even the Red Cross has indicated that in Kosovo and Metohija more then 12,500 families are living in need, and depend on humanitarian aid. We are talking of families on welfare, persons who have been displaced since March 25, 1999 and March 17, 2004. We are talking about the villages of Ossjane, Bicha, Grabac, Belo Polje, Suvi Lukavac, Podgorce, Novake and Sredacka Zupa, and of course Decani, and Pristina.
Food provisions have now become exhausted, or are an end, and that the Red Cross has reported only 10 tons of food or only enough to meet the needs of 300 at risk families during the course of the month. How can any of us allow this to happen, we must please offer our help by supporting with love and with warm our assistance to the Decani Monastery Fund. One can only pray the hour is not to late!
Please loving Christians and respected Brothers and Sisters in Our Lord God, let us together help these suffering and struggling souls in Kosovo and Metohija with providing more food, and fire wood! Let us for a time stop and realize we are truly blessed by our Lord God, and let us share these blessings with those in desperation at this time.
Hope at last, food at last and fire wood at last!
Prayers will be answered because of our love! We will say happy faces, and joyous hearts in Kosovo and Metohija! Thanksgiving will be offered to God all because we offered help. Food at last and fire wood at last! Please kindly with all your heart help the Decani Monastery Relief Fund. Let us bring to those in desperation in Kosovo and Metohija the light of Christ, and be ever joyful knowing no one has perished because we helped and assisted our brothers and sisters who are filled with our love and true Christian warmth.
Please send your donation to the following address:
Decani Monastery Relief Fund
C/O Veljko Sikirica
5600 Beam Ct.
Bethesda, MD. 20817
USA
Thank you and may we humbly say:
Peace to your soul! And God love and bless you!
We humbly with great Christian love pray for you!
Your Ever-Memorable Brothers In Christ Our Lord,
+Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes, President
+His Grace, Bishop Teodosije, First Vice President
+Hieromonk (Father) Sava, Second Vice President
Veljko Sikirica, Secretary-Treasure
Who Prays For You And With You!
