Mocrea - Preparing for Christmas

 Next Tuesday we have the Christmas party for the patients at Mocrea.  This Tuesday we decorated paper bags, enough for everyone. We will pass out tangerines and candies and coffee packets during the intermission in our show to put in these bags.

We always finish our visit with a prayer time at with the patients.  I was blessed to have Adina, Irene, Christine, Peter and Bogdan with me.  Next week for the party and Christmas show we will have 10-12 people helping.  Sarah and Elizabeth also get to stay out of school to help.

I am about ready to TRY and get to town to pick up Irene then Peter and Christine. It continues to snow but we are scheduled at Osana girls home in Timisoara and I want to at least try to make it!  May the Lord make a way where there is no way...!

Sanicolaul Mic Gifts and Party

 Here is the renovated building filled with the kids. This group includes the music students and the ones who just come to the Kid's Club meetings.  This last Saturday we had pizza, soda, tangerines and chocolate for the children. These gifts came from the Hainferd School in England (I know I just slaughtered that name, sorry Chris). Irene provided all the refreshments.  Reaching Romania also provided funds that enabled us to buy more guitar strings as  well as wood for our stove there.

Most of the pictures that we took were accidentally deleted  (yeah, it was my goof - sorry)

This is the view from my bedroom window a few hours ago. It continues to snow. I have cancelled the church service in Vinga.  I wanted to post the pictures from the Kid's Club at Sanicolaul Mic. We had the party complete with pizza, soda, tangerines and chocolate - not to mention the Christmas gifts. I accidentally deleted the pictures I wanted to use. I'll e-mail Irene to resend them to me.

Widows in Varadia

Irene, along with Peter and Chris went with Vlad for Christmas visits with ladies from Varadia. Irene had not met any of these to date and spent much time in getting the stories of their lives and getting to know them.  Each one is precious.

Peter always dresses as Santa for these December visits. I think he enjoys it as much as the elderly do, in fact I know he loves it! Irene's charity, Reaching Romania, in addition to all the children's Christmas shoe boxes, sends gifts for every one in the Widow's Mite program.  Everyone has had their winter wood delivered now too. 

Christmas has started - Maranatha

 Yesterday was Mos Nicolae in Romania.  We began the Christmas shoebox distribution at Maranatha. Traditionally a child will put their boots outside the door and will receive candy or a stick depending on their behavior over the year.  Now all children get decorated sticks plus small gifts. Elizabeth and Sarah got sticks, a hat and M&Ms (that they did NOT share with their loving grandmother!)

 Here is Irene with one of the children her charity, Reaching Romania, sponsors. She was down on the floor playing with all the children - definitely in her element!

Pastor Hada Gligor with the children. They had a lovely Christmas program prepared just for us. At Maranatha there is also a canteen that feeds 50 poor school children a day.

Now the sorting of the gifts begin!

Hundreds, about 500, gift boxes need to be sorted. Here is Irene and her favorite helper Vio beginning the task.  In scores of the cartons are packed medicines, hats, scarves and other misc. goodies. These all need to be removed from each carton and sorted also. Irene uses every inch of space in these cartons.

 Of course it all no longer fits in to my back room.  I specified just make sure we can get to the toilet paper and toothpaste.  Needless to say I am drying clothes in the living-room for awhile.

Tomorrow morning we start to put these in to distribution piles. During the week Vlad will come and we will pull the presents for a ministry he and his wife Alina have with children about 150Km from here. On Thursday we do Maranatha Orphanage and Saturday the Kids Club in Sanicolaul Mic. Chris will have arrived from England by then to join Peter in helping. Of course all of the regular ministry continues. Please hold us up in prayer - some of us are not as young as we used to be but doing all this for hundreds of children, elderly and poor is a work of our hearts!

Christmas gifts have arrived in Romania

 The "communication" with the shipper was that I could accept the shipment anytime EXCEPT Tuesdays between 9AM and 3PM. The shipment arrived at 10AM Tuesday morning.  I had talked to the firm the night before and they had said they could have the truck at my house no later than 6AM. OK...got the neighbors and we were ready at 6.  Everybody had to go to work by 8.  When the huge truck arrives in to my village it had to turn around.  I could write an entire blog just on that maneuver!   This picture is where they are waiting for my forklift.  HMMM - don't have one guys.  Couldn't even come up with the tall ladder they needed.  I was supposed to be picking up some ladies from the UK to help at Mocrea so I asked Peter to get them and come to my house.  As they pulled up I told the driver - my crew has arrived...wish I had had a picture of his facial expression, crew = 2 old people and 3 young slender ladies. We can do this guys!

 We used my truck to ferry the the cartons nearer to the room we are using in my house.  Everybody did a great job!  We had 3 entire pallets and the total was 92 cartons. It turns out that we were 10 cartons over. These wonderful gifts come out every year from Irene's  foundation in Wales called Reaching Romania. Irene spends all year collecting them.  Irene contacted the shipper in case they had been charged to ship the extra 10 cartons and if anyone else was waiting for them. No they were ours to keep - lots of great stuff like T-shirts in them. We are blessed!

Here is Kathleen and Fifi with a little over half the load in my back room. The picture with Jodie did not come out - but thanks to all of them!  After we finished with this we hopped in a care and made it to Mocrea.  Late...but we made it.  This officially launches our Christmas season.