Widow's Mite

The photograph below is of the 34 bags of food in my bathroom ready to be delivered to 6 villages in the judet of Timis. It takes an entire day with travel time to visit the 17 ladies. The photograph on the right is me with Mina Pandel. It was during a long conversation with Mina several years ago that I came to understand how it is that so many children desert their aged parents. She explained that the State took care of the children when you wanted them to, it was their responsibility and when you got old it was the State's responsibility to provide for you, not the children's. Of course under Communism there was no God. When I first discussed this with Mina she couldn't comprehend why I thought her children ought to be helping her. The house she has lived in all of these years is now in the name/s of her children. Mina is now relegated to a shed like area that is attached to the back of the house. There are big padlocks on the other doors - the rest of the house can now produce income for the children. Also Mina was not allowed to use the garden this year for the same reason. She said she is grateful for a tiny plot near the pig sty that they allow her to use. As she is getting older and unable to work as much things are getting more difficult for her and she longs for a relationship with her children.

I also went to visit Eva Stoll. Eva is a tiny 83 year old German woman. She requested a bible in German a year or so ago and Vlad was able to find her one but she can no longer read it. A few years ago she fell and hurt her left arm and has not been able to use it much since and then Friday she fell again. Eva can no longer use her right arm now either. A doctor came to visit her and said it was not broken but he also said she has problems with her heart and lungs. A neighbor rushed over when he saw a strange vehicle to see if Eva was alright. It seems some boys beat and robbed an old woman in that area recently. I am grateful that the neighbor is watching over her.

After visiting Eva we went right next door to deliver food to Smilia and Aurelia. Smilia is 89 and Aurelia is her 60-something profoundly retarded daughter. They were both in bed when we came. Smilia has never recovered from a bout with the flu and now Aurelia has also been bed-ridden for two weeks. A daughter-in-law comes about once a day and leaves food on a near-by table and gets a bucket of water. The daughter in law puts the daughter in her chair just long enough for her to eat and drink a little but Aurelia can no longer stay sitting up. Smlia said she thinks they are at the end of their days. I reminded her that we were agreeing in prayer for the Lord to take Aurelia first and then her right after. Smilia is asking the Lord in His mercy to take them now. I was profoundly sad, not because I think they may both die but because there is so little I can do to ease their lives now.