Highlight... Ani Florea

We would like to start something new by highlighting one of the children in our care each month, so that you have an opportunity to get to know them better. This month we would like to begin with Ani Florea.

Ani has been part of our Mentor Program for the past three years. She lived at the orphanage at Ludus before coming into our care and this is the earliest picture she had of herself...


Ani is a very sweet and quiet young lady. She finished school last year and is currently in a program studying tourism here in Targu Mures. She works at a shoe store in town called, Leonardo and enjoys working with people. She is very helpful and kind.

Ani became a Christian and was baptized several years ago and continues to enjoy reading her Bible. She says that she likes the New Testament the best. Ani also enjoys spending time with her friends, drawing, and speaking in English. Ani has worked hard to learn English and enjoys using it whenever possible.


Ani is hoping to find a way to spend the summer in America working and earning more money so that she can make a better life here after she graduates from the program this year.

Please pray for Ani as she moves closer to independent life. Pray that her faith would remain strong even as she faces challenges. Pray that she would find good friends and a good job. Pray that God will bless her hardworking and gentle spirit.

The Precious Babies...

Please allow us to share a report with you about the baby ministry with Livada from the leader of the program, Rodica Maier.

"I began going to the Ludus hospital two years ago and a lot of babies have come and gone and many changes have been made. There are currently three categories in which we find all the babies.

First there are babies who were born in the hospital and abandoned there. These include Stefan (5 months), Calin (6 months) and Larisa (3 years). Stefan and Calin were both premies and struggled to stay alive even though there was no one caring for them. Larisa is a difficult case. She suffers from brain damage and autism and because there is no physical therapy her body is not well developed. However she is also a fighter and is now beginning to walk with someone holding her hands.

Rodica & Calin


Larisa

The second category are the babies who were brought to the hospital because they were sick and then were "forgotten" and left here because there are no suitable conditions at home. This is the case of Sebi (18 months), whose first smile and words occurred here at the hospital. He was brought to the hospital when he was 5 months old and is now a beautiful little boy who longs for the love of a mother and father. His story is a cruel one. His mother had him with another man while her husband was in prison and when he returned he would not accept him and forced the mother to give him up saying that he had a cold.

Sebi

There are others who were brought here due to illness. Anica is a three year old little girl who is blind and has severe muscle atrophy from laying in a bed all the time. There is no physical therapy, so she continues to deteriorate. Oliviu and Marian are brothers. Marian has brain damage, but physically is developing normally. Oliviu is severely underweight.

Anica

Oliviu

The last category of babies are those who continually come to the hospital and then go home in a cycle. This is the case of Tibi (4 years), Olimpiu (3 years), Flaviu (8 months), and Daria (10 months). There is much that could be shared about these children as well, but I will share a little. Olimpiu has just begun to say his first words and of course one of his first was "mama." When he said it to me I was drawn to tears. Every child should have someone to say that to.

Olimpiu


Daria is the last one who was brought to the hospital. Her mother has just caught on to the idea that she can just leave her like baggage in a locker and then take her back when she feels like it. Daria is a cutie and it breaks my heart to see how much see longs for love and attention.

Daria

I want to say that it is a blessing to be a part of this ministry and a great experience to be able to bring a smile to these young faces. The funding provided by a sponsor for diapers each month has been a huge blessing as there is no one else to give these children the comfort of having normal care. One good result of the ministry has been to see some of the nurses try to implement some of the activities and care we have begun to help the children in their development.

Thank you so much for keeping this ministry in your prayers!" - Rodica Maier

The Journey Begins...

Again our friends from Stichting Livada in Holland have blessed us with something we need and are really looking forward to. They bought us a new van to replace the very old and often unreliable Casa Rebeca van! Marian from our staff went to Holland on Monday to pick up the van and drive it back to Romania...

As you can see, our friends are not only sending a van, but have it packed full of clothes, shoes, toothbrushes, toothpaste and much more! It looks like Marian had a hard time keeping it all in to close the door!


We will post more once Marian arrives back in Romania with the much awaited van. A HUGE thank you to Stichting Livada for this amazing and much needed gift!

Let's Get Messy...

The follow up clubs have begun again for the spring after a few weeks off for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday. As was the case in the fall, we continue to try to come up with programs that are very straightforward in presenting the gospel to the kids in a new and exciting way every opportunity we have to meet with them. We also LOVE to have fun!



This week we had the opportunity to play messy games with the kids from the three group homes in Tarnaveni where we go every Tuesday night. Every once in awhile, we like to do something unexpected, in hopes of keeping things exciting and fun for them. This week was one of those extra special fun-filled game weeks! Each of the children was able to participate in one or two of the messy challenges in hopes of winning points for their teams.



We had them compete in categories to prove who was the thirstiest, smartest, hungriest, sweetest, cleanest, and messiest. This had them chugging soda, eating doughnuts off of a string, feeding one another yogurt while both being blindfolded, searching through a mound of whipped cream with their mouths to find (and eat) a piece of chocolate which was hidden at the bottom, putting a cut up banana pack together again, and searching for candies in water and flour which made a sticky combination. The kids absolutely loved the opportunity to play some games they had never played and to get their hands dirty (literally!) to prove their commitment to winning as a team!



Please continue to pray for the follow up staff and volunteers to have wisdom in planning the curriculum for this spring that will have a great impact on the lives of all the kids we work with. Also, please pray that God would continue to open the ears, minds, and hearts of each child to hear, understand, and accept the gift He is offering them!

A Day in the Mountains...

Last week we took the young adults in our mentor program as well as a few graduates and a few of the older kids from the houses on an outing to the mountains near Brasov. The purpose of this outing as you can see was to teach the kids to snowboard. We were very thankful to have along with us Sarah Burgess, who was visiting for the week and is a competitive snowboarder in the States.


Sarah was a great teacher even with the language barrier and by the end of the day, most of the kids were making it down the hill with few falls. It was a great time together learning something new, having good conversations and just enjoying a day away.







Later that evening we were able to meet a couple from Brasov for dinner who shared with these young adults the importance of surrounding yourself with Christians who are a good influence on you and with whom you can grow in your faith. Their lessons of discipleship and how it had impacted their lives and the lives of others around them was a perfect way to end the day!

Encouraging...

We wanted to share a little story of one of our graduates that is encouraging and ongoing... Jeno was part of the mentor program for several years and had his ups and downs, but always had a way with people and always dreamed of more. A little over a year ago Jeno moved to Cyprus to live and work. He took the chance seriously and has moved up to being a manager of others at the restaurant where he works. Since moving he has helped two other graduates of our program also receive jobs in Cyprus and has taken them under his wing, helping them to get established.


Jeno is back for a visit right now in Targu Mures and will return home to Cyprus with another of our LOC mentor program participants under his wing. Marcel has been in the program for several years. He is a sweet young man, but struggles with choosing the right friends and always making good choices. He has struggled finding a job since finishing school and Jeno has offered to help him get a job at his restaurant. Marcel will be leaving for Cyprus next week and we are hoping to hear more encouraging stories in the coming months.


Please pray for Marcel as he makes this transition. Pray that he will make good choices, work hard and be responsible. Pray that those who have gone before him from our care... Jeno, Andrei and Erno will be good influences on him. Pray for these and all of our other graduates as they make their way and work to become more than so many believed that they could be. Thank you for joining us in having faith in them!