The Smiles Foundation
 News Update January 2008

Dear Friends

From us all at Smiles, we trust you enjoyed a Christ filled Christmas and pray 2008 will indeed be a Great year of opportunity. Opportunity to Change the World for someone and through Smiles, you can have that opportunity with assurance and confidence to succeed.

The past year has indeed been a most amazing opportunity to Change Lives and share the Love of God in many very special ways. We thank the thousands who have made it so special and supported so many in such a variety of ways.

Hundreds have made the journey to Romania and served through Smiles Mission Trips. 387 actually, with 29 of them joining us for the Christmas Trips where we enjoyed Christmas Presentations at the School, Nursery and Children’s Centres in Gepiu and Cihei. We were also delighted to give gifts to so many of regular Food Parcels, Sack of Smiles, special Christmas Food Parcels and gifts of support for Winter Fuel. In total, more than 800 gifts were given out during December. Our supporter’s response was amazing and we thank you for your love and support to the Romanian people – helping us to share the story of the Good News, given to us all as a Gift from God on the first Christmas.

Amidst such joyful opportunities, it is very sad to come face to face with agonising hardships. The winter months in Romania make the hardships extremely stark. This December, we not only faced hardships of poverty through lack of food, clothes, housing needs and the cold, the severity of which made us feel embarrassed with the wealth and comforts we enjoy daily – but we also faced the horror of desperate parents in debt, facing legal action because of medical costs for their daughter born with heart problems.

Such is our desire for the heart of God to be expressed in this family we are launching an appeal today for financial help to pay for Panna Szabo’s heart surgeries. Please help in anyway you can.
A full report is on the web-site.

Tremendous support in supplies from our Wish-list continues to be received across the UK. Another 2 vans arrived in December and a third leaves Leeds on January 4th – full to the brim with much needed supplies for all our projects. The revised updated Wish-list is now published.

During the December Mission Trips, we were able to again run the Sports Project for Disabled and able Bodied tennis enthusiasts.

Our Romanian coach, Josif  Nemes was able to run several sessions at two locations in Norjorid and Alesd. Our Sports Project administrator, Octavia Cimpoca had worked hard to make all the arrangements, despite being in England for a month establishing herself as the new Smiles Sponsorship coordinator. Our specialist coach, John Noakes, was also able to return from Holland to give further professional support to the sessions. Two sessions were specifically organised for members of the Tileagd Gypsy community who also joined Wheelchair players.

A ‘first’ on a couple of fronts …
1. Tileagd Roma’s playing tennis and
2. Integrated with Disabled Romanian’s playing in Wheelchairs.
A wonderful sight to see and all can’t wait for the next opportunity.

As we move into 2008, the Tileagd Community Complex is uppermost in our minds as we work towards completion of Phase 2 in an effort to meet the deadline of the Grand Opening on 7th & 8th June 2008. This is nearly 3 years after we first broke ground for Phase 1.

The weather is proving difficult at present for us to do as much as we need with daily temperatures dropping below freezing so concrete and plastering work is on hold. All windows, except the Church, have now been installed and certainly windows in the Gymnasium cut the through wind down a lot and helped raise the inside temperature. January is scheduled to see Electrical first fix completed and Heating system installation begin. As weather permits, plastering will continue.

Please pray for the work schedule and the finance required for completion.
£200,000 / $400,000 is needed. That’s potentially just 200 Dreamers!

Over the years, several people pledged to be a ‘Dreamer’ but not all have yet fulfilled their pledge. If you are planning to support or want to organise a fund-raising event between now and June to help us complete this project debt-free, please let us know and send your donation to the nearest Smiles office.

The response to attending the Grand Opening has been wonderful. Already 48 are booked in the Mission Centre for the full Mission Trip and 27 more are on the Special Week-end list. Numbers are limited so please call the office if you are interested to be with us at the Grand Opening. It’s going to be quite an occasion. Don’t miss it!

Mission Trips for 2008 are also at their highest level for reservations ever at the turn of the year.
356 people are already reserved or booked for 2008 with 3 trips completely full. These numbers tell us the Mission Trips are a wonderful success – albeit an emotional roll-a-coaster – but an experience not to miss. Take the opportunity of seeing everything you have heard or read about – up close!
Experience the realities that are facing Smiles every day.
The impact your support can have in Changing the World – for someone!
Contact us now for further information of a 2008 Mission Trip Experience.
 

Always so much to report - but before we finish this month’s update, we want to share the fantastic news of God’s provision of new leaders for the Gepiu Project. In November Mihai and Adriana informed us of their decision to emigrate to Canada. Inevitably at first we wondered what the outcome would be for Gepiu, but as usual – God already had great plans for the future. In December we had two options to consider and are delighted to announce from January 14th, Catalin & Lavinia Bakai with 16 month old daughter Trisia Rebeca will be taking the responsibility at Gepiu. We are thankful for all that Mihai and Adriana were a part of in establishing the work and now very excited for all that Catalin and Lavinia will continue to develop.


We are also delighted to announce that from January 1st, our Boards of Trustees were extended with new additions. In America, John Schwab from Louisiana joins the US Board and Larry Wilson steps down having served for 5 years. In the United Kingdom, Dave Clark and Stephen Woodward from England, Gordon Cowan from Scotland and Brian McKee from Northern Ireland all join the UK Board and Joe Hyland steps down after serving for 5 years. Our thanks to those who have served and those now taking up the challenge.

In Closing, our prayer is that 2008 will indeed be Great!

  • Great at expanding our view of the World…

  • Great at challenging us to do more than ever to make a Difference …

  • Great at encouraging us to make do with less so Others can have More …

  • Great at extending God’s Kingdom and seeing less of our Kingdom …

  • Great at Changing the World (for someone)!

May God, the creator of the World and Jesus, the Saviour of the World – help us all in our effort to Change the World (for someone).

 Yours in Christ                             
                                                                                           

The Smiles Foundation


Click here to donate now through the website, or contact your Smiles Office.
 

The Smiles Foundation
 Tel: UK 0113-276-5060    :   Tel: USA 423-239-9525
 E-mail:  info@thesmilesfoundation.org
Website: www.thesmilesfoundation.org

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