Thursday, August 30, 2007

What they need...

There is a song on Casting Crowns newest CD called, "What This World Needs." In listening to this song I was struck by the simpleness and the enormity of what we are called to. The chorus of this song says, "What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue, a Spirit who will lead, a Father who will love them in their time of need."

Well, there it is folks. These kids don't need "Livada Orphan Care." They don't need us to fix them or save them or plan out the great lives that we see for them. We can't offer them what we are not capable of giving. We can not rescue them all from their situations or the hauntings of their past. We can not make all the right choices for them or always see the right road for them. And while we can love them with our limited human love... we can never meet the deepest needs of their hearts. We can only, by the grace of God and because he chooses to allow us to take part, present to them the "Savior who will rescue, Spirit who will lead and Father who will love them in their time of need."

It is our prayer that God will continue to allow us to be a part of sharing this truth with the orphaned and abandoned children of our county for years to come. Pray with us that we will not be fooled into thinking that we are the answer or that we have done anything to change these lives... that is a credit and honor that only God can hold. We are simply the hands and feet that he sometimes uses. Pray that we will speak His truth boldly when He leads and that we will get out of the way and let Him move as only He can when needed. Pray that we will continually point each life we come in contact with to Him... He is the only One who can truly rescue, lead and love them!

Thank you for joining us with your gifts and prayers that allow us the opportunity to reach out to these kids & teens... as we are given the gift of being his hands and feet caring for them, teaching them, meeting daily needs, and ultimately pointing them to His heart.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Until next year...

Another summer has come to a close here in Romania... the Mission was possible and Camp Vetca was a hit! Here are a few shots of the take down of Vetca. Since it is a camp made mostly of tents... most of Vetca was packed away last week... until next year...




As we say goodbye to Vetca... we know that the "mission" that God has called us to continues... to reach through the darkness of these kids lives and help them to find the mission that God has specifically for them... to help them find their place in this world and in the Kingdom!

Friday, August 17, 2007

Casa Rebeca...

Casa Rebeca is the last group home of ours to introduce to you... This home was actually the first one that we opened nearly three years ago! This group of kids has been with us the longest and relates the most like a real family... loving and protecting each other while fighting like brothers and sisters other times. It has been great to see them come together over the years. God has softened hearts, healed hurts and grown bonds for many of these. There are still needs emotionally for some and physically for others, but all of them have made amazing progress!

Casa Rebeca is the largest of our group homes with 11 children. There are several family groups of natural siblings in Casa Rebeca, just as in our other houses...


The Darvas family includes Levi, Zsofia & Kati. They are from a Hungarian background and all attend Hungarian school. This means that they learn not only Hungarian, but Romanian, English and often another language in school. This can be difficult to say the least!


These beautiful girls are the Ionas sisters. Krisztina is athletic and spunky... she has a great sense of humor. Emese is a little princess. She and Eniko, her oldest sister, both love to draw and have one on one time with others. They are not big crowd people, but could sit and chat for hours.


Then there are the Musta brothers... Geza & Bella are both wonderful boys and are different in most ways. While Geza is usually off in his own little world figuring out how something works or drawing detailed drawings, Bella prefers to be right in the middle of any action he can find.


Marian and Stefan are not actually natural siblings, but they have a very special big brother/little brother relationship. Stefan always wants to do everything just like Marian and when Stefan wanted to try out for a soccer team, Marian spent extra time working with him on his skills. They are the oldest and youngest in the house, but have a very close bond.


Anna is also at Casa Rebeca with no natural siblings. Although she does not have any natural siblings or connection with her natural family, she certainly is a part of one big family here at Casa Rebeca.

Please pray for the children at Casa Rebeca as they grow and mature. Pray that we will be wise in helping them transition from childhood to independence in the right ways and at the right times. Pray that God will continue to draw them to Himself. Pray that those with a relationship with Him already will continue to seek him and grow. Pray that God would draw the others into a real and personal relationship with Himself.

If you are interested in joining the sponsorship team for one of these children at Casa Rebeca, please contact kelly@livada.org or visit our website at www.livada.org.
Thank you!

Camping with the kids...

Many of you know that each summer we try to give the kids in each of our group homes a "family vacation" experience. This year was no different and very different at the same time. During our first few years of having the group homes we took the kids away from the house and from town to the Black Sea. Our goal was to bond them as a family and to give these children who have had few positive childhood memories something to look back on happily!


As you can see, this water doesn't look like the sea... and is not at a beach. This little spot is only about an hour away from town and is a great little lake camping spot called "Bezid." We want our kids to have great memories as children, but also want them to have a realistic view of life. Most families do not go on a beach vacation each year (especially not in Romania) so we wanted to find other things to do with them this year that would still make memories, but not build up an unrealistic expectation that every year they would go to the beach.


At least two days of "vacation week" with a camping night in between, were spent at Bezid. The kids loved putting up their tents, swimming in the lake, playing games, hiking up the hills and just being together!


The campfire was also a hit as the kids roasted their own hot dogs and marshmallows (brought in from America for the occasion) for s'mores!


As you can see... this year's vacation may not have been a big trip to the Black Sea, but the kids had fun just being together in town and hanging out at the lake! A special thank you to all the educator/tutors who spent the week with us for these vacations so that all the house moms at our group homes could have a week off!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Loving the Babies...


The ministry to the abandoned babies of our area takes place at the hospital in Ludus. Rodica Maier from our Romanian staff leads this ministry throughout the year. She and her volunteers work with the infants and toddlers several times a week.



This summer Rodica and her volunteers were joined by Heather, one of our American Interns for the summer. Heather and volunteers were able to expand the baby ministry for the summer and went morning and afternoon each day! It was a blessing to watch special moments with the kids like first steps for a little boy named Gabi and another little boy named Olympiu be moved from the infants to the toddlers as he was sitting up and more active. Many of our in town team members were able to take a day or two and visit the babies as well.


A while back there was a church which donated money towards buying rocking chairs for the baby hospital, so that there would be somewhere to sit and rock these sweet babies. We purchased all the rockers that would fit and were still able to purchase strollers and walkers so that those who worked with the babies this summer could actually get them out of the hospital for a time and allow them some sun and fresh air. What a blessing these gifts have been this summer and will continue to be as we minister to these precious little ones.

Casa Ana...

Let us continue to introduce you to our kids... This week, we have Casa Ana. This house, like Casa Nadia was opened two years ago this fall. These children all came to us from the Orphanage in Ludus. As you can see this is a little bit older group. The youngest and oldest in this house are all part of the Kalanyos family...


This is Daniel, Maria, Cornel, Claudia and Simona Kalanyos. They are all brothers and sisters that we were able to bring into our care as a family group. As you can see the age range is pretty wide. These kids are varied in personality as most families are... Claudia is a tom boy and really wants to be older like the others. Daniel is the funny man. Cornel is a great athlete and loves to play soccer. Maria enjoys running and sports. Simona is all girl and definitely a teenager. One thing you notice about this group right away is that they are family. They love each other and look out for each other.



The other four kids at Casa Ana do not have natural siblings in our care. Several of them know of other siblings out there and some are in the state's care in other locations, but these kids our part of our big family now! Kati is very shy but can be quite funny when she comes out of her shell. She has made amazing progress since coming into our care. When she first came, she would not allow others to touch her and rarely smiled. She smiles and enjoys life now most of the time. Zorro is making up lost time from not being put in school until he came to us. He is trying very hard and has made up several grades in school with the help of tutors. Catalina loves to laugh and be silly. Elis has just passed her 8th grade tests and will begin an academic high school in the fall.

Many of the kids at Casa Ana as you can see are entering or are in the middle of their teenage years. Please pray for God's protection over them as they make decisions that will affect their futures and as they learn how to use the bits of independence and freedom given them. Several of these still need a significant part of their sponsorship. If you are interested in sponsoring a child at Casa Ana, please visit our website at www.livada.org or contact kelly@livada.org.

The Final Week...


Yes, this was the final week of camp for the summer... This was a summer with some learning curves that come along with a new camp facility, a great group of teams, a wonderful set of interns, and of course a summer full of kids!


God made this Mission Possible summer a blessing to the orphaned and abandoned children of this county, but the mission is really just beginning. Through our follow up programs that go on throughout the year, we will have the opportunity to build on the relationships made and work to continue to break through walls in these children's hearts that have been in place for a long time. God used many this summer to make an impact on these children and we are excited to come back to our Fall programs in a few weeks and continue the work!


Thank you to all of you who have been praying for the summer and all the ministries that God has allowed us to be a part of here this summer. It is a blessing to be able to join Him where He is at work.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Casa Nadia

Over the next few weeks we would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the children of our group homes. The first are from Casa Nadia...


Many of our children were brought into our care with several of their natural siblings. This is the Lorinczi/Lapadat family... Laura, Daniela, Janos, Margareta & Ibi. Laura has a quiet sweet spirit while her youngest sister Daniela is a spunky little princess. Janos is a strong student and athlete. Margareta and Ibi always seem to be playing and smiling.


Here is Adi Mailat & Fanel Stroea... They are two boys in this house who are not with natural siblings but are like brothers. Both of these boys can be moody, but also full of fun. Adi has struggled some this spring but has begun mature through the summer.


Finally, we have Sergiu & Daniel Simon. They are two of the three Simon brothers in our care. Madalin, their oldest brother, is in a foster care family under our care. Sergiu is always making funny faces and being silly. Daniel also enjoys fun but struggles emotionally and behaviorally. Madalin has shown progress in his behavior since living in a more intimate family setting.

Although these children come from several different natural families and many different backgrounds, God has brought them together as one family at Casa Nadia. Pray that He will continue to bind them together to care for one another and love one another as family. Pray for the upcoming move of Daniel Simon into "Casa Daniel," where he will receive the care and therapy he needs for his special emotional and behavioral needs.

If you would consider joining a sponsorship team for one of these children, please visit the sponsorship tab on the livada website (www.livada.org). Thank you!