BREAKING BREAD AT EASTER
I t was Easter ‘morning in a German refugee camp. The wooden barrack was filled with lonely, homeless people. As we read from the Word of God, we heard a constant whispering com ing from somewhere in the crowd. Looking for the source of the dis turbance, our eyes fell on an old German woman. Her brow was wrinkled with age, but the light of heaven was in her eyes. We discovered that she was repeat ing aloud each verse as we read it from God’s Holy Word. Like the other refugees, she had no Bible of her own. By repeating the verses aloud she was able to retain in her mind the truths of God’s Word. Thus in her dark est hours of despair she was able to quote from memory texts which gave her comfort, inspira tion and strength. That night as we gave her a Bible we knew in our hearts that we had BROKEN THE BREAD OF LIFE to a hun gry soul! On the outskirts of Marburg, Germany, a young refugee moth er lives in a barn with her three children. Her husband, missing in Russia, has not been heard from in nine years. We gave to her gifts of food and clothing, as well as a German Bible. Through reading this Bible, she found the Saviour, and courage to carry on in the face of loneliness. In a letter of thanks to us she said, “ Each night when the children are asleep, I turn to my precious Bible and read, ‘A ll things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose’.” Again, we knew that BREAD HAD BEEN BROKEN to a needy soul! “ I waited one and a half years to see my wife smile again,” said an aged refugee, whose wife had been bed-ridden for many long months. Because of her illness,
That day we had given them a CARE package of food, and tears of joy and thankfulness flowed freely down their cheeks. In the next barrack there lived a wretched couple. For months we had tried to win them for Christ, but their ears were closed. Yet, the day we gave them a food
she had lost all joy in living, parcel, showing them by this act that we cared for their physical welfare, their hearts were opened to our message. God used this small gesture of love to the salva tion of their souls. That day we knew that not only had we BROKEN PHYSI CAL BREAD to the hungry, but we had also BROKEN HEAV ENLY BREAD. They had found CHRIST, THE BREAD OF LIFE! The anxious hearts of these refugees ask, “Where are we go ing? What is the purpose of our life?” But their anxiety and fears are quieted when with one hand we present to them BREAD FOR THEIR BODY to give physical strength and courage; and in the other hand BREAD FOR THE SOUL! It is only in the crucified and risen Christ that we can help the needy, the downtrodden, and the broken-hearted. We are reminded of the words of Jeremiah, “ The children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.” For Christ’s sake, and for the sake of these unhap py, homeless refugees, let it never be said of us, “NO MAN BREAK ETH IT UNTO THEM.” WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW IN THIS PROJECT OF MERCY!
The children and the aged of Europe’s refugee camps desperately need our help. 300,000 refugees live under most adverse circumstances.
Please address all gifts and correspondence to:
Save Europe's Children Rev. Douglas G. Stewart, F.R.G.S. Director for North America European Evangelistic Crusade, Inc., Member Mission I.F.M .A . 811 Westview St., Philadelphia 19, Pennsylvania. Dear Sir: W ith a glad and willing heart I am enclosing $ ....................................to help alleviate the physical and spiritual needs of Europe's refugees.
n a m e _ ! ________ _________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS— ________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
C ITY ___________________________________________ ZONE____________ STATE_______________________________
APRIL 1954
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