Romanian Fotbal... a.k.a. soccer...

Marian from Casa Rebeca and Cornel from Casa Ana had a soccer game today... it was an early morning as we met the team, drove an hour away for the game, and watched the teams warm up... but when ten o'clock rolled around it was all worth it! Fotbal (soccer) is the passion of both of these boys and they were thrilled to have fans cheering them on for this game. We were the entire cheering section!


The teams lined up before the game... we were on the opposite side of the field, so we aren't sure if they pray, flip a coin or what. But then it was time for the action! Marian plays in the backfield and made several goal blocking kicks to keep the other team from scoring!


Cornel plays in an offensive position and here he is scoring a goal for his team! Needless to say our little pack of fans erupted in applause!


Here are a few of our fan group... Zsofia from Casa Rebeca and some visiting sponsors and friends... Randall & Leslie Buchanan! We had a great time cheering the boys on to victory!

Some Soccer Action...

Marian and Cornel's team won their game today 4-2! Here is one of the goals scored by a teammate...



Another fun clip of Marian (#2) and Cornel (#11) working as a team!



It is so good to see these good friends excel at something they love!

Messy Games

Here is a little teaser for the extravaganza that is "Messy Game Day." As you can see from these after shots, it was a very messy, but very fun day!



Keep reading below to learn more about the Messy Games...

WOW... that is messy!

First up in the messy games was a game of Twister... You know the game... Left foot red, right hand blue, etc. Well this time the colors were covered with a little something to make the game a little more interesting. Red was covered in ketchup, blue in berry jelly, yellow in mustard and green in green colored pudding! It was a slippy sliddy hilarious mess! Bella, Zorro & Daniel sure didn't seem to mind!


There was more fun to be had with Kati Rostas getting a wet head full of flour...


Geza played in the game that was much like "Musical Chairs" but instead of you moving... a plate full of whipped cream moved around the circle until the music stopped. When it stopped, the person on the right got a face full of whipped cream! Many a kid walked away with a face full of cream on this game!


Those who were saved from receiving a messy treat in one of our games... won a head full of green pudding as a reward!


Then there was a new version of "Duck, Duck, Goose"... the person who was it, had a raw egg in their hand and lovingly cracked it over the head of the "Goose." The fun part for "the goose" was when they caught the person, they got to pay back the favor! There were many egg heads after this game. Zsofia and Eniko both ended up with egg covered heads!


As you can imagine... fun was had by all. And soon there after, everyone stood in line for a nice long shower! More spring break fun to come...

Loving on the Babies...

Rodica Maier continues to lead our Cradle Care ministry at the Hospital in Ludus. This is the main hospital where abandoned babies are taken and also finds many infants and young children who live most of their time in the hospital because their parents are not able to or do not properly care for them. Some of these young ones go home for a month or up to 6 months at a time, but usually end up back in the hospital for one reason or another worse off than they were before. It is a hard cycle, but Rodica and her volunteers make the most of the time they have with the kids working on language skills, walking and movement, manners and more. As you can see Andreas (below) is enjoying some of the picture books that were donated and are being used at the hospital.


Oliviu has spent much time in the hospital. He is two years old and was just returned to the hospital after a six month stay at home where he lost a lot of weight and was only 10 lbs. when he returned to the hospital accompanied by his new younger brother who suffers from a form of brain damage.


These three cuties are Marian, Oliviu's brother; Sorina, who loves to be held and talked to and Sebastian who is ten months old. He has been at the hospital since he was five months old. Sadly, there was a Romanian family recently who wanted to adopt Sebastian, but was unable to because he had not been "officially" abandoned. It is sad to know that sometimes even when there are people who want to give these kids a chance at a better life, the red tape prevents them from it.


Please pray for these and many more children across Romania who are in and out of state systems. Pray for the staff that works with them to have an impact in whatever time they are given to work with them and pray over them. Pray for the best interest of the children to be first and foremost in the mind of their parents, the state and those who care for them.

Thank you to those who pray for these babies and toddlers. Thank you for those who have sent money to help purchase walkers, strollers, diapers, baby clothes and more. We appreciate your prayers for these special little ones.

Easter in Romania

We know Easter was a while ago in America, but we just celebrated here in Romania yesterday. The day started with a morning at church with the kids. Each house then had a scavenger hunt around the house with clues to where they would find their hidden Easter Baskets. The kids raced through the houses working together to find the hidden location. Once they were found they enjoyed their fun treats.




After the baskets were found, it was time to hunt for eggs! The kids started out the hunt together and raced to find all the eggs hidden all around the yard! The kids had a wonderful day celebrating our Risen Savior and having fun together!



Thank you for your continuing prayers and support that allow us to bring the fun of childhood to these precious children that for years didn't have anyone care enough to keep them safe and allow them to enjoy the little joys of being a kid!

Smiles in the day to day...

As the weather warms, it has been nice to see the kids just enjoying the day to day pleasures of spring. Daniel Simon received a special treat of a bunny for Easter in conjunction with his therapy program. He was very proud to show off "spot" and play with him a while.


Geza received roller blades for his birthday last October (right as the winter was setting in) and has loved getting out and putting them in action now that it is finally nicer weather!


It is always fun to see the kids just calmly hanging out and enjoying the simple things... Anna & Kati were "caught" just quietly chatting and picking flowers in the yard of Casa Rebeca yesterday.


Bella and all the other boys have taken every opportunity as of late to gather with the other boys around the village to play a little street soccer. It is not uncommon to find 10-12 boys of all ages playing and scattering when you drive by...


We are thankful for the smiles in the day to day that help us get through the days when the trials seem more than we can bear. It is a blessing from the Lord that renews our strength and shows us again that He is at work in the day to day!

Blankets, Bears & Books... Oh My!

This past week we have had two sweet ladies in Romania with us... Sharon Stockham who is usually hard at work in our business office in California and Sally Roberts who is our good friend and sponsor of a few of our kids.

These ladies came overflowing with love and the love of others for our kids. The Thimble Club in California made 10 quilts for the girls at Campenita and Sharon & Sally brought them to the girls while they were here. Sharon also gave each of the girls a new teddy bear from her grandchildren. These special girls from Campenita (a state group home that we helped to start and assist monthly) were thrilled to have guests and with their special gifts.




Sally sent many boxes of clothes ahead that we were able to distribute to our boys and also was sent with love from friends and the Reading Council of her area in the form of money to purchase books for the kids in our group homes. The kids were all thrilled with having new books to read and appreciated the time they were able to spend with these two sweet ladies!

Krisztina's Big Day...

For the last several years since the kids moved into Casa Rebeca, they have had similar traditions that they do each year. The child whose birthday it is comes down the stairs to all the other kids singing “Happy Birthday” to them (in Romanian of course). When they come down there is a table set up and waiting for them with a cake and lit candles, presents, drinks, etc. After we finish singing all the kids and staff give a kiss to the birthday boy or girl and wish them a happy birthday! After that, they are able to cut the first slice in the cake.


Everyone is served cake and drinks and after everyone is done with that, we all stand around and ooohhh and aahhhh as the birthday child opens all of their presents. A few days ago, on Kristina’s birthday everyone went to eat their cake, and we suddenly realized Kristina had snuck back to the table and opened all of her gifts even though no one was even there to watch her! I guess she couldn’t wait to see what she got!



When we found her… she looked like a puppy with its tail between its legs! All that to say, Kristina was thrilled with all of her gifts, and she had a great time opening them (we hope☺) Once again, a huge thank you to all of you who make these special moments happen!

Extreme Makeover Eat Your Heart Out!

Valentina Before...

If you were following the blog before Christmas you will perhaps remember a girl named Valentina from Zau orphanage who had a mouth full of rotten teeth. My heart broke for her as I heard how the other kids were so mean to her because of how bad her teeth looked. For years all she’s wanted is a new smile and I am happy to announce that last week her dream came true. It wasn’t a simple process but after 3 long months of weekly dentist visits she finally has a new smile she can be proud of!

Valentina After...

I can’t even put into words how excited she was when she saw her new teeth for the first time. When the dentist got them all cleaned off and brought her to look at them in the mirror I am not sure she really believed it was her. She was so delighted. She nearly knocked me over with her enthusiasm as she hugged and kissed me. She was looking at herself, then looking at me and laughing like I’ve never seen her laugh before. Each time she laughed I noticed she put her hand up in front of her mouth. As I moved her hand away from her mouth I told her that she could be proud of her new smile and she didn’t have to hide it behind her hand anymore when she laughed. She just looked at me and giggled as she said, “I know Fiona, I’m just used to doing that so nobody can see my teeth.” Bless her she was just so excited. The dentist was laughing too, I’m not sure he’d ever seen someone that happy with his work before!


It really was an amazing moment, a true transformation. She is like a different girl, so happy, so thankful and so on her behalf I would like to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who helped make this happen! You have changed a girl’s life by giving her a smile and I just pray that one day God will change her heart as only He can.

Happy Happy Birthday

We recently celebrated the birthday of Kati Darvas who turned 12 years old. She was thrilled to receive so many special gifts from America! This year on her birthday, Kati and her siblings in Casa Rebeca had a visit with their father. She was also so pleased to be able to talk on the phone with a few of her sponsors that called.


She has been working on her English, and she was proud to know how to communicate and thank her sponsors for her gifts and for thinking of her on her birthday. It has been really neat to watch Kati as she has grown and matured over this past year. She switched schools and is now learning in Romanian instead of Hungarian, and she has been thankful for the switch.


Pray for Kati to continue to mature and overcome past hurts and strongholds throughout this next year. Thank you so much for your prayers and support of the kids that help to make their special days extra special!