ROMANIAN
UPDATE
Dear Faithful
& Patient Sending Team!
I have
been back four weeks . Here is a final update to the Romania trip! The
first week back is kinda "foggy". The next 2 weeks we were doing a very
intense special pre-field training course in Tijuana for missionaries
planning to go out long term. The day after it ended, Neal & I left for
a much needed break in this very busy year. We just got home this afternoon
- and here I am trying to recap an incredible 3 week ministry trip to
Romania!
There
were 7 of us - Leanne, Shari, Byron ( our 17 yr. old grandson) & me from
San Diego; Lonnie from Owasso, OK; Heidi & Dante from Chicago. It was
the first missions trip off the continent for everyone except Heidi &
me. Because YOU prayed, gave & encouraged, it was a very fruitful trip
- in the lives of those we went to minister to, in our own lives, & we
trust it has borne fruit in your lives as well.
We left
San Diego early on July 7th, were to all connect in Chicago & fly on together
about 2:30p.m., but Lonnie's flight was delayed in landing - our first
"hassle", actually mostly his! But we all reconnected at our final airport
in Budapest, Hungary on July 8th. Due to a mix-up at the shuttle agency,
we spent the day in the airport - but this "would-be hassle" didn't work,
as we all stayed pretty peaceful & patient. THX for praying! We finally
were all tucked in bed in Timisoara, Romania about 35 hours after we started
our trip in San Diego. Alas, we had to get up after about 5 hours sleep,
as the plans were already set there for us to buy paint & other supplies
& be on our way to the Orphanage in Lugoj by 9:30a.m.
When we
arrived in Lugoj we were taken to the home of the Christian Romanian family
where we would stay that week. We met them briefly & dropped off our stuff
& headed for the orphanage - our first major mission. This orphanage has
over 800 children in it. Most are somewhat "normal", a second group of
around 150 can walk & talk - but are not your typical healthy children.
Many just sit & rock, or stare or have other dysfunctional behaviors -
some were little more than skin & bones. Then there were about 25 kids
hidden away in 3 rooms upstairs in one of the buildings. The desire of
the long term missionary, Ruth, was for us to spend as much time as possible
with these severely mentally & physically handicapped children & also
to transform a room that was in serious need of repair, into a beautiful
therapy room for these 25 children.
So we
began - THX for praying. Some would scrape walls & patch big cracks &
holes while others would go up & begin talking to & touching the children
& praying for grace & strong stomachs & stable emotions all the while.
Then we would switch places. By the end of the first day, we were starting
to feel the enablement of God's strength & His love towards these "forgotten"
ones. And so the week went - we became bonded to these kids, we rubbed
their almost non-existent muscles, we stretched out their legs & arms
as much as we could in a week, we sat up the ones who were able to be
held up, we carried them outside to lie under the trees, & we talked to
them & sang to them & prayed for them - continually. All of these kids
are in diapers- which are changed twice a day. None of them talk, although
some of them smile & even laugh. None of them can walk, and many cannot
sit up - all are between the ages of 4 and 16 years old. The nutrition
is atrocious - white bread, white rice or pasta, maybe a few pieces of
potato - all with broth poured over it. That's it. We never saw vegetables
or meat or fruit or juice or eggs or milk! We never saw a Dr.'s care or
any therapy happening. You can imagine our emotions - it all seemed so
hopeless & sad & overwhelming. But, two things helped - Ruth pointed out
that even if they were only happier for a week, at least they were happier
for that week! Secondly, YOU were praying!
We finished
the therapy room, which is now beautiful & in full use. Thank you to all
of you who gave finances, toys, therapy balls, etc. There are beautiful
murals painted on all four walls. It looks great! AND the good news since
returning home - Ruth has been able to go two days a week instead of one,
& has a couple of Romanian Christian women helping her, as well as young
woman from the U.S. there for a couple of months. (Ruth already works
in other orphanages in Timisoara). Plus, funds have been given to provide
a jar of baby food for each of these 25 on those two days each week. BEST
of all, 3 young Romanian women are in the process of seeing if God wants
them to become part of the mission team in Timisoara - specifically to
work in the orphanage in Lugoj!! Thank God!! Please keep praying.
Well,
that was the first week, & this report is too long already! The last day
was very hard & tearful, saying the goodbyes to the kids, to our host
family, to Ruth & to Cristina - the young Romanian woman who was with
us all week & is now seeking to go fulltime.
The next
day - after 3 hours of sleep the night before - saw us on the train from
Timisoara to Cluj-Napoca, where we were met by John, the missionary who
teaches English to 9th graders in public school - among other things.
We also met David & Consuela who work with youth there, in church & colleges.
We had a good Italian meal, then a planning meeting with John about the
Youth Camp starting the next day, followed by a good night's sleep! THX
for praying!
The next
day as we were in John's apartment, sorting supplies for the camp, one
of the boys called on the phone & asked if there wouldn't please be room
for his girl friend to come. John again told him it was full. George said
- "no problem, she can just share my bed". Again, John told him this will
be a Christian camp. We seven, with John, took 42 kids by bus to a beautiful
valley in the Transylvania mountains - just an hour's drive from Cluj
- where there is a small retreat place for camp. We each had from 4 -
8 kids in our rooms, and there was a dinning hall where we ate & had our
meetings each day. We had "Reflection time" (devotions) each morning.
We presented the topics of Creation, Who Am I, and Purity - using experiments,
skits, videos & talks. There were small discussion groups twice a day,
there was praise music - can they ever sing!! There were many ice breakers,
games, crafts, sports, hikes, etc. When the week began there were about
10-12 Christian kids. At the end, there were at least 5 definite first
time decisions for Christ, plus 5 or 6 more who came thinking they were
Christians & coming to realize that they had no personal relationship,
plus several more who expressed a desire to talk more about these things
with John & David & Consuela in the future. There have already been 2
or 3 follow-up meetings or activities. (David & Consuela drove to the
camp each day to be with the kids, as they & John have the ongoing relationship
with them). THX for praying! It was a great week. The youth of Romania
need continuing prayer, as there is a general feeling of hopelessness
in a country with 49% unemployment, for example!
The last
week Heidi, Lonnie, Dante & Byron bravely went with a group of street
kids to help in a camp for them along with the Romanians who work with
these street kids. It was ROUGH - from the hiking in over an hour with
all the supplies, on a very muddy slippery path, to the kids being very
aggressively hostile at first, to the dirt floor kitchen, to the continual
rain, etc etc. But, THX for praying! They did all survive and some of
the kids did come closer to receiving the love being offered & even showed
some affection in return. Encouragement was given to the Romanian workers
by our 4 helping. Plus all gained a greater awareness of the needs of
these kinds of kids.
Meantime,
Leanne, Shari & I, along with John, went shopping!! No, not for us! For
setting up a Christian Youth Center! We checked out the huge store first,
then measured & talked about what & how at the apartment John had rented
for a Youth Center. Then back to the store the next day where we bought
6 round plastic tables, 24 good folding chairs, 7 plastic chairs for on
the porches (apt. is on the 2nd floor), 4 stools for the kitchen table,
a refrigerator!! and many small things like a new toilet seat, soap, mop,
bucket, wastebaskets, hand towels, kitchen towels, etc etc. ALL - for
just under $500!! THX for giving! Our last night in Cluj was the grand
opening of the place - with most of the kids who had been at the camp,
plus others. Our 4 from the street kids' camp returned just in time to
take long hot showers & change clothes before the opening. This is a place
where the Christian kids can "hang out" & also bring their non-Christian
friends. THX to all of you who donated funds to buy the stuff, as well
as who donated games, boom box, etc. THX for praying!
The next
morning found us on the train to Budapest - tired & happy. We got a good
night's sleep, after exploring a bit. Then we had one day of being "tourists"
as well as processing time together and making the transition towards
coming home. We slept, ate, walked miles in that incredible city, shopped
a little, talked, prayed, laughed, got "lost", & then flew home the next
morning.
Thank
you all for reading this "book", for praying, giving, & for having us
share at churches, home fellowships, etc. - a very vital part of the missions
process.
Until
the whole world knows!
YVONNE
PS: The
attached pictures show the "before-after" look of the therapy room, and
the "gang" you prayed for! Back row: Simona's sister, Simona, Heidi, Leanne,
Simona's mother, Shari, Yvonne Front row: Dante, Byron, Cristina, Simona's
husband, Simona's brother
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