What's in Your Heart?

We are having a Bible Study each Saturday with different groups of kids from our group homes. This week we talked about Psalm 139 and how God knows everything about us because He made us. We talked about the fact that no person can know all that we think or do or feel, but God does. God loves us with the good and the bad. We looked especially at the last verse where David asks God to search his heart... show him what he needed to change, depend on God for and show him the way to go to follow God.


The kids then took a few minutes to think through what was in their heart that day. Were they afraid of something, worried about something, upset, sad, happy... was Jesus in their heart? They wrote several things down and then we prayed that God would show us how to let our hearts be filled with Him and to help us trust Him with the other things we find in our hearts each day.

The kids were more honest than a room full of adults would be... they shared the things that made them sad, if they were happy, if they were upset with someone and more. Several wrote that in their heart was love for God because He loved them so much. It showed once again that there is often unknown pain in the hearts of those we come in contact with each day, that we can either help with or make worse. Pray that in the lives of these we are called to love and invest in that we would be healing, encouraging and pointing them towards the one that knows them best of all... their Creator.

It was a sweet time with the kids this week. Please continue to pray for our time together each week, as we share from God's word together and go a little deeper each time with the kids. Pray that hearts will be softened, that truth will take hold and that many will come to know Christ in a personal way as they look into His word.

New Experiences...

Every week we have a program with the teenagers in the Foundation where we play games, talk, watch movies, and hang out. Over the past few months we have seen great improvements in the behavior and in the choices that our teenagers have been making. As a reward we decided to do something special for all of them.


There are many things that we, as Americans, have become accustomed to and don’t think of as a novelty. One of these things is bowling. We might think bowling would not be the best reward, but when we took the young adults who range in age from 18-23 years old, it was a first time experience for many of them.



Although their form and precision did tend to be less than graceful or accurate, they had a blast learning the game and competing to be on the best team! It has been a true joy to watch as the teenagers have grown in maturity and relational skills and it was exciting to watch them have fun and enjoy the benefits of their positive changes and growth.

Laura turns 14!

Last week we celebrated Laura’s birthday! In Romania, it is a big deal when you turn fourteen because you are allowed to get your bulletin (official identity card) which is a sign that you are becoming an adult. This was especially exciting for Laura because we have seen so much growth and improvement in her in all areas over the past year.



We have been so excited to watch her grow not only academically but also relationally! It has been so neat to watch her become more comfortable and to begin to express her very own personality. For her birthday, she was able to watch her favorite movie (High School Musical), play games, and open all of her gifts.


She had a blast celebrating with all the kids in the house. Thank you so much to all of the sponsors who so generously send gifts for the kid’s birthdays which help us to make their special day so extra special!

New Year Treats!

There’s no denying that everywhere in the world, people are in need. Those of us who work in follow up see so many needs everyday that it is often hard to know where to start, kids needing dentistry, medicine, someone to talk to, help in school, clothes, toiletries and the list goes on and on! We know we can’t solve every problem or satisfy every need that comes our way but God does provide and what a joy it is to be able help where we can. This month we were able to give some of the kids we work with a special New Year treat!


These 4 girls (Madalina, Olympia, Diana and Poradici) are at the age where they are now out of the orphanage system and need to make it on their own. They live in a night shelter in Targu Mures and work at a local sewing factory and cleaning agency. They come to our Underground program every Thursday night and are full of life! This last week we went on a girls’ day out… shopping. We drove to a small mall near TM where each girl was given a budget to buy whatever clothes they wanted, a real treat that they’d never had before. Wow, what an afternoon! They were so excited that they were dancing round the stores, touching everything, commenting on prices, asking 100s of questions and trying things on. It was quite the adventure. After a few hours they all left with at least 2 or 3 items each and they loved it! What a privilege to be able to put a smile on someone’s face and help them out with at least one of their many needs!


This scary lot are the boys from Sincai! 4 months ago they moved from Ludus orphanage to a group home in a tiny village where Paul Coles visits them every week. They are a great bunch of guys and are always up for whatever Paul has in store for them. The Belfast Giants, an ice hockey team in N.Ireland, kindly donated these sports jerseys and we were able to give them to the boys as a New Year gift. As you can see they were absolutely delighted!

Please join with us as we thank God for His continued provision that allows us to give to these kids. Please also pray that God will give our Follow Up team; Paul and Fiona Coles, Rebecca Rasmussen and Andrew Vidal wisdom as they seek to meet the emotional, spiritual and physical needs of so many kids still in State care.

Hello & Goodbye

This morning was our first official staff meeting of 2008. We were encouraged to have Brian Briley with us for this meeting as he has been in Targu Mures this past week encouraging the staff. As you can see, the leadership of this ministry is made up of many Romanians and several Western staff. We could not have an effective ministry without each other. Each person pictured here brings a special set of gifts to this ministry that are unique.

We talked this morning about being "a light"... to each other, in our community and to our kids... about "seeking first His kingdom" and having the rest come into place as we seek to honor Him and follow His lead and about the need and desire we have to be "joyful, pray and give thanks in all circumstances" as we are unified in our ministry together to each other and to these children.

We know that 2008 will hold many challenges, but none that are beyond the sight of our Father. Pray that we will honor Him in all that we do and that He will receive all the glory for the changed hearts and lives.

As we welcome in the new year and the new adventures that it will bring, we sadly say goodbye to Angela Hastings (holding the flowers). Angela has served as a STINT missionary with us for three years. She has been the coordinator of education at Casa Ana & Casa Nadia during her time here and has been a faithful teacher, mentor, listener, care giver and friend to all the children in these homes. The impact that she has had on these children will continue for years to come as they look back on their time with Angela and the truths that she taught and lived out before them. Please pray for the children as they go through this time of loss and transition and for Angela as she steps out into the next adventure that God has in store for her.

Thank you Angela for all that you have invested in this ministry and these children!

Daniel turns 11!

As many of you know from reading the blog, Daniel Simon who has been in our care for over two years now, is currently living at "Casa Daniel" a special therapy house to help him recover from some behavioral and emotional challenges. He is progressing very well through the program and we praise the Lord for all the steps towards healing so far.

Yesterday was Daniel's birthday and both of his brothers were invited to come over and spend much of the afternoon celebrating with him. His younger brother, Sergiu lives at Casa Nadia and Madalin, his older brother, lives in a foster care situation within our care. The three Simon brothers were thrilled to be together as you can see. Sergiu was the conductor for the Romanian birthday song and everyone sang along!




Please continue to pray for all three of these brothers. Pray that God will heal hurts from the past, give hope for the future and draw them each to Himself!

A Trip to Town...

The kids from Casa Rebeca had one more holiday adventure on Friday night. While they were still out of school on vacation and the town was still decorated, we went walking through the Center of town and over to the Fortress, where a "holiday village" was set up. It was very cold, but also a good time to just hang out and be together as a family.



Don't worry, Kati, Eniko and Ella didn't really get locked up!



As you can see, we were even able to go up on the outdoor stage and the kids pretended to act things out and sing. They had a ball!

A Christmas Gift

As most of you know by now, Ludus, the orphanage where all of the kids in our care once lived has officially closed its doors. All of the 40 teenagers who remained there have been moved to state group homes and apartments about 30 minutes away from Targu Mures. Because we knew Christmas would be the last holiday that these teenagers would possibly ever all spend together, we wanted to do something special for them. Paul and Fiona Coles and Rebecca Rasmussen decided to buy gifts for each of them and to go deliver them on Christmas morning.


As has become normal at Ludus, we were aware that our request could easily be declined or our visit could be made very difficult. However, we were excited to be allowed to make the visit, and arrived there at about 10:30 on Christmas morning. That was our first big gift.


Once we were there, the kids all sang carols for us before we handed out gifts. The caretakers allowed us to take pictures of all of the kids receiving their gifts! For a very long time now, we have not even been allowed to take cameras inside the doors! This was definitely gift number two!


Each kid received a few gifts, and we also took cakes and drinks for all of them to enjoy throughout the day. The biggest gift of all was the response we received from them. They were all so thankful for their gifts and even more thankful that we had taken the time to visit them on Christmas morning. Some of them even had eyes full of tears as they thanked us for everything. It was such a great time that we were able to spend with these kids before they headed off to their new homes.


Please remember to keep all of these teenagers in your prayers as they fear the unknown and the huge change taking place in their lives. Most of them have been in Ludus together for the majority of their lives, and although this change could ultimately be so positive, Ludus has been their home and family for so long. Please pray that as they move into their new homes we will have more opportunities to share God’s love with each!

A Day of Sledding...

It was a chilly but fun day today as the older kids from our three group homes spent the day sledding! As with all groups there were those who were frozen the moment they arrived and wanted to go home. Others were slow starters, but once they made their first run down, they loved it. And there were of course those who were fearless from the start and tried to find the fastest spot on the hill each time.
It was a fun day all around!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

Here in Romania we don’t just celebrate the twelve days of Christmas; we make it a month long celebration! We do an advent calendar at each of our three group homes for the whole month of December. On each day, the kids read a message for that day and then do all kinds of different activities. On December 1 we always put up and decorate the Christmas tree.


Throughout the rest of the month we did crafts, had a room-decorating contest, baked cookies for teachers, watched Christmas movies, made cards for their families and teachers, and had other special activities. One of the very special things that we did was read the story of the candy cane, which tells a story of how the candy cane can remind us of Jesus and the ultimate sacrifice He made for us. The kids loved the story and enjoyed the rare treat of a candy cane, which they don’t have here.


Another very special craft that we did was to make an ornament for our Christmas tree. The kids made and decorated little hanging picture frames and each of them took a picture in front of the tree wearing a Santa hat. We then glued the pictures in the frames and were able to put them up!



The holiday season is a great time for us to enjoy each other and our many blessings, have a fun time as a family, and to be reminded of the real reason for Christmas!

A Baby Is Born...

Fanel & Daniela from Casa Nadia at their school play

As some of our Livada kids remembered Jesus' birth in their school Christmas pageant, we also celebrated the birth of another child. Betty Andreea Vizi, the new baby daughter of one of our orphan graduates Elvis and his wife Ana Maria. Both Ana Maria and Betty are doing fine.


Betty Andreea Vizi is born!


Bruce and Elvis the proud new father.

Elvis is so proud. He told Bruce that he now realizes how serious life is and how important it is to work hard at his job and to take care of his family. It was a huge blessing to hear that from him. Please keep the Vizi family in your prayers and pray that God would continue to allow Elvis to put into practice what he has learned so that he will be able to provide for his family, that they will stay together forever, and that they will be a good example to the younger Livada kids. Pray also that our Livada kids would remember the real meaning of Christ's birth in this season of presents from sponsors and Santa!

Casa Ana Christmas...

And we have the older ones from Casa Ana enjoying Christmas morning with the same enthusiasm as the little kids! Here are a few of their Christmas morning pictures...





Thank you again to all the sponsors who invest in these children with us and have helped to make this Christmas so special for each child!

Casa Nadia Christmas...

Here are a few of the kiddos from Casa Nadia as they celebrate Christmas morning...





Again, thank you to all the wonderful sponsors who allow us to care for these children each day and have made this Christmas extra special!

Casa Rebeca Christmas...

Here are just a few of the sleepy, but very happy faces at Casa Rebeca on Christmas morning...





Thank you to all the Casa Rebeca sponsors who allow us to care for these children year round and have helped make this Christmas so special!