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AN INTRODUCTION TO CMIAID
A brief history CMIAID had its beginnings in 1988 At that time Matthew Hillier was a year seven student at Pacific Hills Christian School in Sydney Australia He was invited to write letters to Christians who were in prison in the then Soviet Union by one of the bus drivers who regularly drove students to and from school Not long after Matthew started writing letters to Christians in prison the Soviet Union and its neighbouring Eastern Communist Bloc countries underwent a massive change Almost overnight the oppressive regimes collapsed Dictators were executed the Berlin Wall was broken down and Christian prisoners were released Within months of some of the Christian prisoners returning home they started writing letters to Matthew asking for Bibles and literature As the economic situation started to fall apart requests were received for other types of help as well Initially parcels were sent from Australia through the post However this was unreliable and many items were stolen In 1992 the first shipping container was sent to St Petersburg Russia quickly followed by another to Odessa Ukraine Christians in Australia were very supportive of the ministry providing both goods to go into the containers and the means to send them During the course of the Container Ministry of CMIAID over 80 shipping containers were sent to the needy countries of Eastern Europe A number of good Christian contacts were made in the countries of Eastern Europe many of whom still work with us today The time came when we saw that the Lord was opening new doors and opportunities in Eastern Europe and the emphasis of the ministry changed from sending aid to being active on the ground in Eastern Europe In 2009 the ministry became primarily focused on the little country of Moldova where we had been working since 2000 One of the ministries that had been established in Moldova prior to setting up a base in 2009 was the Postal Bible School work We saw that there were many opportunities in Moldova and much need It also seemed that little was being done In 2009 the Lord enabled us to purchase a property in the village of Zirnesti This was possible due to a legacy left by a Christian lady in Australia who had a long interest in the ministry In 2012 a five storey apartment block was also purchased from the local council in Zirnesti with the intention of renovating it and making it into the Bethesda Centre Over following years team after team of volunteers came from Northern Ireland Scotland England Germany and Australia and through their dedication and effort the building is now functioning for the Lord in Moldova On arrival in Zirnesti one of our desires was to see the establishment of a local church in the village Almost immediately Gospel meetings commenced every Sunday afternoon It was several years before a brother and sister who lived in the village were saved and baptised Not long after this the Zirnesti Christian Assembly commenced in the village Although quite a number of those who also work with CMIAID attend the assembly it is a great to joy to see new Christians from the village coming along as well Today the Lord has given us many open doors of opportunity in Moldova We share some of these with you in this Introduction to CMIAID
CMIAID Today We give thanks to God that He has blessed us with open doors and abundant opportunities in Moldova at the present time The purpose of CMIAID is to provide a means by which Christians around the world can ENABLE SUPPORT and RESOURCE local Christians in Eastern Europe to preach the Gospel and to demonstrate the love of Christ To fulfil this objective CMIAID operates various ministries in which local Christians participate to provide both practical help in the community and to present the message of the Gospel Here is some brief information about some of those ministries POSTAL BIBLE SCHOOL This challenges children to study God s Word by correspondence We use BibleTime courses published in Romanian and Russian by Bible Education Services Post boxes where children can post completed courses have been placed in many schools in the area allowing children to easily participate and thereby grow in their knowledge of God s Word CHILDREN S MINISTRIES Children s Ministries form a large part of the work of CMIAID in Moldova The Children s Ministry is based on a three fold approach 1 Presenting the GOSPEL through outreaches such as the annual Step into the Bible Presentation held at the Bethesda Centre and visits to schools 2 Building KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING of God s Word through weekly Bible Clubs held in in village schools and participation in the BIBLETIME Postal Bible School 3 Building RELATIONSHIPS with the children through the annual Children s Summer Camps Each year approximately 900 children attend summer camps at the CMIAID Base and 9 500 students and teachers visit the Bethesda Centre to view the Christmas Gospel Presentation CMIAID FIRE SERVICE Perhaps this is the most unusual ministry of CMIAID in Moldova The fire service aids the community in ten villages around Zirnesti in the event of a fire or other emergency It is staffed by trained volunteers from CMIAID and responds to an average of 70 emergency calls each year CMIAID PUBLICATIONS Each year CMIAID publishes over 150 000 Gospel calendars in the Romanian Russian and Eastern Armenian languages for distribution in Moldova Romania and Armenia Various types of calendars are printed including those for adults children police and fire fighters They are widely distributed throughout these countries and are given away free of charge CMIAID Publications also translates and publishes Gospel literature Bible portions and teaching material Some current projects include Believer s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald into Eastern Armenian Pocket edition of the Gospel of John in Russian The Church Masterpiece of the Ages by J B Nicholson into Romanian and Eastern Armenian Revelation a commentary by Don Stormer into Romanian Food for New Believers by C E Tatham into Romanian FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM There are many needy families in Moldova The Family Support Program provides a wide range of support to help families the sick and the elderly in times of need This includes the provision of food clothing firewood medicines school supplies hygiene items and furniture This area of the ministry incorporates the following ministries The Bethesda Soup Kitchen commenced in 2011 provides daily hot meals to approximately 50 elderly people in their homes The food is delivered each weekday by CMIAID workers Although the meals are very much appreciated probably what brings most joy is the daily visit of the workers The Student Aid Fund provides regular support to Christian youth from needy families who are going to university in Moldova and need practical help to meet their expenses The Medical Fund pays for medicines for the poorest in the community and if needed medical care or essential operations The Firewood and Potato Fund supplies heating fuel and basic staple foods such as potatoes to needy families as they prepare for the cold winter months COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Each year we distribute aid through the Community Assistance Program Much of the aid that we distribute is received in containers from overseas Aid that is distributed includes hospital equipment hospital consumables fire fighting equipment furniture and stationery supplies Aid has been distributed to hospitals schools kindergartens the government fire service and the SMURD ambulance service
The purpose of CMIAID is to provide a means by which Christians around the world can ENABLE SUPPORT and RESOURCE local Christians in Eastern Europe to preach the Gospel and to demonstrate the love of Christ Ministry Overview Training individuals and workers Summer Camps Bible Clubs Online Programs Gospel Presenta on Postal Bible School Bethesda Interna onal Chris an School Children s Ministries CMIAID Fire Service Discipleship Program Gospel Outreach Special Projects Emergencies Example Ukraine Aid Sharing the Gospel and demonstra ng the love of Christ CMIAID Publishing Gospel literature and teaching material published in Romanian Russian and Armenian Calendar Distribu on Visita on Christmas Fes val Outreach Programs Community Assistance Program Hospital Aid Schools Kindergartens Fire and Police Family Support Program Sydney Cafe Teachers Resource Centre Firewood and Potato Fund Family Assistance Bethesda Soup Kitchen Medical Fund Student Aid
TEACHERS RESOURCE CENTRE The TRC opened in 2017 and is in the Bethesda Centre providing resources such as computers printers and laminators for school teachers to use free of charge Most schools do not have these facilities They also receive a credit each month allowing them to make use of consumables that the Centre provides Currently there are over 350 teachers from government schools who are registered to use the Centre DISCIPLESHIP PROGRAM The Discipleship Program is designed to provide specialised training for those sensing God s call to service in the local church as elders teachers preachers evangelists or missionaries THE TEAM IN MOLDOVA We give thanks to the Lord for the team of workers that He has provided in Moldova There are presently 45 fulltime workers involved in the ministry A large proportion of these come from the local area The rest are from the United Kingdom Australia Romania Russia and Armenia These 45 fulltime workers are supplemented by visitors who come to serve short term in Moldova from many different countries GOSPEL OUTREACH Praise God for open doors for the Gospel There are many opportunities to reach out through hospital visitation special events the Christmas Festival held each year at the Bethesda Centre Men s Breakfasts Ladies Morning Teas and Banquets for different groups from the community SPECIAL PROJECTS EMERGENCIES We respond to emergencies and crisis situations as they arise such as the Ukraine refugee crisis or natural disasters These are usually one off events where we can provide practical help as a demonstration of the love of Christ to those in need SYDNEY CAF The Sydney Caf is in the Bethesda Centre The caf is used for various outreach events throughout the year and functions as a regular caf Why Sydney Arthur Stace was a famous Sydneysider whom God transformed from being a homeless alcoholic to a saint on the way to heaven For the rest of his life he went around Sydney with a one word message ETERNITY The caf is themed around this story prompting the question Where will you spend ETERNITY FACT FILE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA Population 3 500 000 Capital Chisinau Main Languages 1st Romanian 2nd Russian Received independence from USSR 27 August 1991 Neighbouring countries Romania and Ukraine Moldova is officially considered to be the poorest country in Europe
Get Involved 3 COLLECT 1 PRAY If you would like to help by collecting goods in your area contact us for one of our CONTAINER NEEDS brochures which lists current needs and CMIAID Collection Points for goods Some of the prayer needs for the work have been covered in this booklet CMIAID also sends out a monthly FOR PRAYER bulletin and newsletter by email or post If you would like to receive these you can email us at office cmiaid org with your email or postal address and we will be happy to send them to you 44 7927373105 If you use WhatsApp you can also join our CMIAID Group by scanning this QR Code facebook com cmiaid 2 SUPPORT Cheques can be sent to CMIAID Fountain House 3 Conduit Mews London SE18 7AP United Kingdom Funds can also be transferred directly to the CMIAID Bank Account CMIAID HSBC Bank Sort Code 40 03 16 Account no 21702270 Each year a number of shipments of aid leave the United Kingdom for Moldova These shipments supply items for various ministries as well as aid goods that we can distribute 4 VOLUNTEER Each year we have many visitors from different countries who come to help with the work in Moldova Do you have a spare week or two to come on a short term mission trip to Moldova There is always plenty to do For more information see our VOLUNTEERING brochure If the Lord has laid on your heart the needs of this ministry and you would like to support financially it would be much appreciated Gifts can also be made online via the CMIAID website Visit www cmiaid org donate If you would like us to claim GIFTAID on your gift please contact us and we will send you a GIFTAID form to complete
MINISTRIES FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT CMIAID Fountain House 3 Conduit Mews London SE18 7AP Telephone 44 0 208 1383248 www cmiaid org info cmiaid org