The Apartment Girls...

We asked the mentor for the girl's apartment, Gabi, for an update for the blog and her words and heart for the girls shown through so much we just wanted to share it from her point of view.

Maria has started high school this year. She likes the school she attends, however it has very high expectations and is difficult. Maria is still working hard to adjust from her grade school which did not prepare her well for the challenges of this level of study. She often comes home stressed and worried by all that she has to learn, so I stay with her to talk her through it and encourage her. Although it is difficult, Maria is working very hard and has made it a priority. She often refrains from other activities so that she can study.


Maria is really enjoying being in the apartment. She is very responsible and loves learning to cook. She has friends from school and from our homes and likes to spend time with them. I am thankful to God for Maria. She is such a precious girl who is making mature decisions. Since the time she moved in, she has been a big help and has had no major problems. My big prayer for her is that she will adapt to school, learn well and organize her time well so that she can reach her dreams.


Elis is taking a course right now to qualify her to work in stores like a supermarket. It has been a difficult time for her recently and she has come to understand that she will graduate from the mentor program next year. She felt that those in authority were basically joking with her trying to scare her into getting a job, but is now starting to see the reality of the situation. I have been all around town with her putting in applications, but up until now it has been difficult to find anything.


God is good and now Elis is working for a cleaning company at the Mures Mall. She is working with an official work card and really likes her job, her boss and her co-workers. Her boss has been kind to her and praises her for her hard work. Elis now realizes that she needs to save money for her future and is working hard to have as much saved as possible before she graduates. I am so thankful to God that He has heard my prayers and we have come to a place to see Elis working and understanding her responsibility towards her future. My prayer for Elis is that she will continue to take her job seriously and work hard and also that she will continue to learn and retain the life skills we are working on in the apartment as well. She is the only one of the girls who attends church with me right now and I pray that in God's timing she will come into a personal relationship with Him.


Simona is attending the same course as Elis, but sadly has not found a job yet. Over time she has begun to show an interest in learning to cook and enjoys making all kinds of cakes and desserts. She is keeping a recipe book of all that she is learning and is beginning to accept my help. I have been with her as well to look for a job, but it is difficult as she only wants to work in certain kinds of places, which makes it much more difficult for her to find something. Hopefully, if she hasn't found something by December when she finishes this course, her diploma will help. She has not saved any money and needs to begin to make responsible steps towards her future.


My prayer for Simona is that she would see the importance of having a job and would find a place to work. My other prayer is that she would find good friends who will accept her and with whom she can share. I have tried to be that for her, but without much success. She is learning more independent life skills which is a blessing and I hope to see her in a stable job soon. I know it is difficult, but also know with God it is possible. I want Simona to see herself achieve a goal, to be healthy and to know that my investment in her is from the heart.


We are hoping to begin a Bible Study soon and I hope they will attend and receive the truth, grace and love their Father offers. Pray that we will know how to proceed and that God will bring fruit in their lives.


Please pray for these three girls as well as their precious mentor Gabi as she lives with them and pours her life and heart out for them. Pray that God would give her wisdom, patience, encouragement, joy and time away to be refreshed when she needs it. Thank you.

Highlight... Emese Ionas

When the first group of kids moved from Ludus and into Casa Rebeca five years ago, Emese was the youngest girl in the house. She was the princess of the house! Over the past year, we have had the privilege of watching Emese grow and mature from a little girl into a beautiful, young woman inside and out.


In Casa Rebeca, Emese has shown many improvements in her behavior. She has become a better listener, is more organized, and has grown to appreciate things and people much more. It has been great to watch her relationships with the other kids and staff in the house develop and deepen. Emese has also become more interested in being involved in the different programs and activities that we do within the house. One of the major issues she struggles in within the house is controlling her frustration. She is often easily provoked and says things that she shouldn’t. Please pray for Emese that she will learn to better control her frustration, anger, and the words she says.


At school, Emese has also shown great improvements in many areas. She has become much more sociable, and has begun making good friends in her class. Her two best friends from school, Raluca and Denisa, have been to visit her at home, and she has also been to visit them. When her educator went to talk to her teachers, her teachers praised her and said that she seems to have developed a greater self-esteem and courage in herself. She has begun to participate much more and is much more active in the classroom. Emese is very dedicated to succeeding in school. One of the most positive and admirable traits Emese has is that she is a very hard worker when it comes to school. What she lacks in scholastic capability, she works extra hard to compensate for because she is very motivated by grades and success. Please pray for Emese that God will reward her for her diligence in school and that He will deepen her relationships that she has developed in her class.


Before the end of the year Emese will have an operation on each of her knees. She will need a great deal of encouragement during this time and during her recovery. It will be an extremely difficult time for her as she will not only need to rebuild her strength in both of her legs, but she will also miss at least six weeks of school. She will need to keep up with her classmates so that she won’t have to repeat the whole year. Please continue to pray for Emese that her issues with her knees will be resolved with these surgeries. Pray that she will finally have relief from the pain and embarrassment she has felt for years because of her knees. Pray that God will provide people in her life to encourage her in this time, and that she will continue to be diligent in her studies so that she will not fall behind!



Thank you so much for your prayers and love for Emese. We are so proud of the young lady she has become, and we appreciate your prayers as she is entering her adolescent years. Pray that we will have wisdom in how to best encourage her and that she will realize how deeply loved she is by the staff at Casa Rebeca and most importantly by her Heavenly Father!

Adi Moves In...

The boys were glad to finally officially welcome Adi to their apartment this month! It has been a long process of paperwork and approvals, but Adi has now joined the boys in their apartment and has brought with him a new level of excitement and joy!


His mentor says that Adi is full of energy and always wants to do something. He is full of questions and is always wanting to learn something new! Adi gets along great with his new "roommates" Marian and Cornel and they are all helping each other as they learn life skills and move a little closer to independence. Adi seems to be adjusting well to the move and is enjoying this new stage in life.


Please continue to pray for Adi as he is starting high school this year and also making this big transition into the apartment with the boys. Pray that he will form a close relationship with his mentor Marius and learn from him. Pray that he will use this new level of responsibility and freedom in a positive way and grow deeper in character during the coming years as well.

The Mentor Program Builds Unity...

The teens in the mentor program are blessed to have Maria Baciu leading the program. They are blessed to have mentors like Gabi & Marius and are also thankful for the new addition to the program who will be investing in the teens, building into the mentors and bringing a renewed spiritual focus to the program. The mentor program's fall retreat was a good time for everyone to get to know Dan and to spend time together.



The retreat was held in a beautiful part of Romania. The teens and their leaders traveled to Harghita county where they spent their time together visiting a castle, caves, lakes, dams, gorges, and hiking all around in the nice fall weather.







As you can see, everyone enjoyed this time away right before school began for most and the task of job hunting for others. Please continue to pray for the teens in our mentor program by name. In Marius' apartment: Marian, Cornel & Adi... In Gabi's apartment: Simona, Elis & Maria. Thank you so much!

The Baby Ministry Continues...

Rodica Maier spent several years investing her time and heart into building relationships and a ministry at the baby hospital. She has been a blessing in the lives of the children and the nurses at the hospital. Rodica moved to England this fall with her husband and will be missed. Alina Mutean and Sarah Meszaros now have the opportunity to continue this ministry with the babies and toddlers. We are so thankful for these two ladies stepping up to continue this meaningful and much needed ministry. Here is the first update from the new team…


Three mornings a week we spend time at the hospital giving love and helping with development and socialization.

During our first month, we focused on getting to know the kids and staff, assessing the needs of the different kids and seeing how we can help most effectively. For the first few weeks we had 5 toddlers. In the baby area there were about 5 babies, now there are 10.

Every child has a different story and reason for being at the hospital. Some families don’t have the conditions to care for their child, and others just choose not to. Some babies were abandoned there at birth or in their first few months, others were brought there because they were sick, and some kids go back and forth between the hospital and home whenever the parents decide.

Sebi is one of the toddlers, and while he is able to speak and communicate, his language is hard to understand at times. He has been at the hospital since he was 5 months old; now he is 2 ½ years old. He is so cute and everyone at the hospital loves him.

Simona is around 4 years old and has been at the hospital for a while as well. She has difficulty speaking, and it is hard to get her to focus or concentrate on anything for any amount of time. Alina has been doing a great job working with Simona to develop some language skills this month. Simona can now say “Mona”, and if she really focuses, she can say her full name.

Daria is younger than Sebi and Simona, and she is such a precious and cute little girl. When we first started going, she was starting to take her first steps. She was persistent, even when she would fall, to get up and keep trying. Daria can now walk alone without help.

This month another girl named Samuela came to the hospital. She is very cute and smart. She understands what you are saying and loves playing with the others, running and doing what the other kids are doing.

There was a little boy named Remus, about 18 months old, who had been at the hospital. He is active and able to connect and focus on you, but he lacks the strength or development to sit up on his own, and he is still eating out of a bottle. We were working with him to develop and gain strength, and using a baby walker he was able to walk. He was so happy and we loved working with him, but recently he was taken by child protective services from the hospital.

Gheorghe is also in the toddler area. While he is 2, he is unable to walk and has some other problems. However, when someone talks to him he connects and smiles and laughs. He is precious, and needs love and affection like all of the kids.

Stefan was recently moved from the baby area to the toddler rooms. He has learned to stand alone without help. Now he is exploring the room, and he loves crawling around just to discover something new.

It is so sad to know that these children are not receiving love from a parent every day. We are blessed with this amazing opportunity to love on each of them and help them with development during our mornings there. Pray that these children would be blessed and that they would experience the love of God.

More Fun Times...

Last week, we were able to go on a retreat with our house, apartment, and follow up staff to a town about two hours from Targu Mures called Sibiu. During our retreat we went to two different museums and had a group lunch where we discussed the impact and importance of having positive attitudes in the workplace.


The first museum we went to was outdoors on a lake and showcased many different styles of houses from different regions and different time periods. The second museum we went to was an indoor art museum that showcased different paintings and furniture. The art museum was located right in the center of town which had a beautiful square very different to the center in the town in which we live. We had beautiful weather all day, and it was nice to spend time not only seeing different cultural beauty but also being outside together, walking through town, and spending time together.


As we have had several changes in our staff throughout this year, this retreat was a great opportunity for all of us to spend time together, getting to know each other much better. It was a day of fun and bonding, and we all really enjoyed the opportunity to have a day away from our normal routine and to have time to do something new, exciting, and fun together.

A Retreat to Remember...

The time of year has once again come that we always have our staff retreats. Like last year, we planned to have two separate retreats this year- one for the Directorial and STINT staff and one for our house, apartment, and follow up staff. Throughout the year, we have had many new additions and changes to our staff, so we decided that it would be extremely valuable to spend a major part of our retreats spending time together and getting to know everyone better.


This summer, we had Sarah join our staff as one of the Coordinators for the Baby Ministry and our Follow Up ministries. This fall, we had Emil Moldovan join our staff as an Assistant to the Executive Director and Jeff, Jenny, and Jack join our staff as the Directors of Ministry in Residential Care. With all of these new additions, we realized the value of spending time becoming a unified group of leadership, and we decided to have our retreat all the way in Budapest.



We were able to spend LOTS of time together in the van, eating yummy food, and sightseeing around Budapest, learning more about each other, and learning about the laws of teamwork. It was a time of fun, relaxation, and excitement as we traveled far away to grow as a team while experiencing a country many of our staff had never had the opportunity to visit. We are so excited that God gave us the opportunity to do something special this year as we all really needed the encouragement and a break. It was great to come together, build each other up, and become a team all striving for the same goal- to see lives continue to change all for the glory of God.


We so appreciate your prayers for our leadership and staff as we still face trials and struggles with the kids and with the authorities. Please pray that God will continue to unify us and give us wisdom to make the best decisions.