From Maria's Desk



Leeds, England registered UK Charity No.1087961
Kingsport, USA charitable non-profit # 86-0957704
Oradea, Romania registered Charity No.14839712

 
...making smiles in Romania





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A Letter from Maria's Desk
March 2016

Rainy days…

I do not know about you, but there are times when I feel that my days, weeks, even months are ‘very rainy’. Even if I do like a rainy day after a hot summer day, at times I feel that it is too much! Like the weather now in Romania. February was a very wet, raining month! The land is full with water.

What do you do when you go through a rainy season in your life?

God promised us that He will never leave us or forsake us! Even on the ‘rainy days’ ….so that’s a great encouragement!

There are a lot of people here in Romania that the Smiles Foundation work with daily and they go through a lot of rainy days! I just received news from a dear friend of mine that her child, 5 years old has a brain tumour and needs surgery. Another friend of mine has cancer. Another one had their father die this past month because of cancer! We live in a world in great turmoil! Everywhere you turn you can hear negative news!

Emergency Housing Unit

This morning we received a phone call from a lady that calls our office weekly, since October last year to ask for help. She is desperate to get out of the house and start a new life but she is scared. Her husband is abusing her and using violence against her and their baby that is under one year old. She is scared to take the big step and get away! So pray for my colleagues that have a direct involvement with this case and also for her to have the courage to get out of the house! She will try to do it today if she can!

Also another lady called the office this morning that she and her kids want to come to Smiles for support because of her abusive alcoholic husband! She left the house that is 100 km away from Oradea and my colleagues are waiting for her at the train station!

I can’t give you many details of the location and project but I’m sure that a lot of you know what I’m referring to. What you might not know is that in order for us to do this we need financial support!!!! And that’s hard to get it when you can’t explain every detail about the cases! If there is a chance for you to help us please do that! Please support us in order to support these 2 cases that are real emergencies. Every little help!

Another project we work on is Rapa. The new foundations started to be dug but because of the rain it’s taking a bit longer than we planned. So pray for some sunny days in order for us to continue the work! The families that are already in the homes are really happy! You can see the difference that was made in their life! Thank you to all the people that made this dream possible.

My Tileagd Craft project is also going great! We have a lot of things to sell. If you have an event or a market day just let me know and we can send you the supplies and promotional leaflets you need!! The ladies from the group would really appreciate your help!

Some amazing news for me is that I have a lot of them that are coming each Sunday to church! This past Sunday they had a song during the service! About God’s love! I can’t tell you in words what I really felt. I pray for the day when they will know Him as their personal saviour! There is a lady called Aurica Dani who started to come to church on a regular basis. I’m so happy to see her reactions and hear all the questions she has. It’s a great way to talk to her about Jesus. Aurica has a big family and 3 of the kids have severe disabilities. Still I’ve never heard her having a bad word towards God about it! What a great testimony.

So my dear friend, even if February is a shorter month, a lot of things are going on here in Romania each and every day!

I pray to God that our ‘rainy days’ to be less and less on this earth but if we get closer to Him because of having them, I say thank you to Him!

Even if at times it’s hard for us to understand WHY, the good news is that He knows best. With me being an impatient person, I do not understand all the time why!

But I’m happy that He gives me strength to wait and waiting for His time is better than mine!!

Have a blessed month!

With love

Maria

Maria Hava ,
Director of Operations, Romania
maria@thesmilesfoundation.org
 


Previous letters from Maria:

February 2016 - Frozen
January 2016 - A thankful heart

December 2015 - Make someone happy!
November 2015 - Like father like son
October 2015 - It's between you and God
September 2015 - Our Unchanging God
August 2015 - I trust Him no matter what
July 2015 - I've had enough
June 2015 - Things that make me happy

May 2015 - Butterflies
March 2015 - Sovereign over us

February 2015 - My Grace is sufficient for you
January 2015 - From the Management Team

 

 

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