Romania has
received a lot of attention since the fall of its former dictator Ceausescu. The
fallen leader left the country in a devastating state; most of us remember its
Orphanages overflowing with neglected children. Romania became the focus of
many ministries and as a result, it is the most evangelized among the Balkan
countries today.
Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian
relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, has collected more than 100
million shoebox gifts since 1993 [giving them to needy children around the
world]. Through simple gifts and a message of hope, children learn they are
loved and not forgotten
Livia grew up in an orphanage in Romania. She took baths in dirty water, wore the same clothes for weeks at a time, and never celebrated a birthday. When she was younger, she asked for hair clips, but thought no one was listening. When Livia was 12-years-old, she received a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child. It was handed to her by Connie Satterfield, who was in Romania to help distribute the boxes. Livia ran to her as soon as she got off the bus, and never let her go. When Livia was told that the people who sent the boxes prayed for her and loved her, she asked, “How can people from thousands of miles away love me?”
When she opened her box, at the very top was a set of hair clips. She was so excited she put every single one in her hair.
Livia grew up in an orphanage in Romania. She took baths in dirty water, wore the same clothes for weeks at a time, and never celebrated a birthday. When she was younger, she asked for hair clips, but thought no one was listening. When Livia was 12-years-old, she received a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child. It was handed to her by Connie Satterfield, who was in Romania to help distribute the boxes. Livia ran to her as soon as she got off the bus, and never let her go. When Livia was told that the people who sent the boxes prayed for her and loved her, she asked, “How can people from thousands of miles away love me?”
When she opened her box, at the very top was a set of hair clips. She was so excited she put every single one in her hair.
The battle for the
children of Romania continues even today. It is taking a generation to reverse
the wreckage left by the dictator. European Initiative (EI), our parent
organization has conducted Humanitarian outreaches into Romania for six
consecutive years. For our next outreach in January 2014 we are partnering with
Buckner Romania, based in Turgu Mures. Our team will minister in the public
schools, to the foster children, and to the mothers. We will bring the message
of the Cross in word and in deed. We will bless the poor with warm coats, boots
and shoes.
Let us pray:
1)
Lord,
we ask for Your direction in the planning of this outreach to Romania. Show
Zuzanna and me (the organizers) your heart and plan for this specific outreach.
Give us fresh insight to your purposes for Turgu Mures.
2)
We
pray for the team, that just the right people will hear Your calling them to go
on this trip. Lord even now, prepare these, clear their calendars, and provide
their funding.
3)
Let
us pray that the needed funds will come in for the Humanitarian aspect of this outreach.
We will be purchasing shoes, boots and coats in Romania this year.
4)
Pray
for the Buckner team in Romania, that they would be blessed even as they
prepare.
Another recent
story describes the harsh reality of an orphan’s fate, approaching adulthood;
he was released from an orphanage without any preparation, a place to go or any
life skills.
Laurentiu Ierusalim grew up in an orphanage after he was
abandoned in a hospital at birth. Now 26, he says he was told he’d be
discharged only the day before he had to leave.
“I spent the entire first day standing in front of the
orphanage,” he says. “I didn’t know what to do, so I slept in a playground
across the street.”
Ierusalim stayed homeless. Bundled in a warm sweatshirt, his
dark eyes cast downward, he describes spending three years moving from city to
city, knocking on doors to ask for work, food and shelter.
5) About 2,000 Romanian orphans are
released each year to the streets because they have come of age. They do not
know how to cope with the real world. Let us pray that angels would guide them
to safety, and to Christians that will show them love.
6) Let us pray that the Romanian
churches would become heart-broken for these homeless children. James 1:27 “Pure religion and
undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows
in their affliction”
7) The state provides little, by way of
formalized life-training programs or ongoing support for the estimated 70,000
children who fall under the care of the Department of Child Protection, let
alone the tens of thousands more believed to live on the streets. Let us pray
that the state would open their doors for the churches to work with these
children.
8) My the Body of Christ at large awaken
and not pull back but increase its involvement with the volatile state of the Orphan children and youth of
Romania.
Please leave a Comment or Reaction so we will know you Prayed.
