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Wow- I can’t believe it is
summer!!! It’s May and the weather is AMAZING!!!
It was strange that from winter time in March when we had snow….by the
end of April we’ve gone straight into summer time at 25C/80F.
Trees, grass, flowers, all of nature around us has “new clothes on”. I
remember the verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17 that says…….
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!”
But what about my desk? Is it new? Well, I did not change it
or move it, but I always have new things to talk about!
April was a great month in the life of the Smiles Foundation! As I
write the updates it feels that is was such a long month and I don’t
know from where to start! So, let’s try from the “beginning”.
On April 1st, we had 20 students and 3 teachers from
Pate’s Grammar School arriving in Romania for one week of
“life-changing education experience”….and it was not a joke:) … it was
for real!
We had a great time with lots of fun….I remember one day that I took
them to the Gypsy Village in Tileagd and I had a hard time to get them
out of there ….After nearly 4 hours I managed, but only because we had
to get back on time for dinner.
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 Also while they were here they
helped us in other projects like Family visits, the
Gepiu Project - where we redecorated the farm house to get
ready for a “new beginning”; Construction, School, Nursery, Children
Centre, Homeless and other projects that we are involved on a day to
day basis!
I was pleased to see the attitude that these young
people have and I was also shocked when I heard the amount of money
that they had raised for our projects without even visiting Smiles
before!
So guys, if you read this report WELL DONE and THANK
YOU VERY VERY MUCH for everything and we wait to see you again in
Romania! Thanks.
So, as soon as they left we had another mission trip started! And
being a smaller team it was more like “a family type setting”. They
did great too and I remember the day when I left them at the market
place in Tileagd because they had to go there and “do business
:)”…..Well the kids from our school made “Gypsy Easter Eggs” and
they sold them in the market and made money for their school
budget!!
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 It was great because they sold everything…….so THANK
YOU LADIES for buying what was left from them and for making
them sooooooo happy!! The kids really think that they are great
business people and that with their skills they can make enough
money for the school running cost but with only one condition …….for
YOU to buy everything :).
For the Romanians, Easter was on April 19th,
and because Mr Hoy and Dave Clark (our Constructor adviser and a
trustee of the Smiles Foundation) were in the country we did
“invite” them to our Church programme in Tileagd!
We had a fantastic time……After church, our fellowship continued over
lunch where nearly 100 people were present! Meda and Geta did a
great job cooking for so many people….
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One thing that really touched me
 and
left me without words was when our little girl Ioana
(she is a part of the Children Centre in Cihei) came in the
front and sing the song ALLELUIA! I remember
all the emotion that I had while she sang…. my legs were shaking……my
voice was trembling…..but the happiness that was in my heart did not
have words to describe!! Since the day I asked her if she would like
to sing in the church she did not stop practicing the songs
everywhere she went ….Outside when she play…..when she walk on the
street…..when she was in the Centre…..when she was in the
bath……everywhere and to everyone!!
At the beginning was more like a “fun thing” but when she did it in
the church in front of so many people she was like a little angel
that sang when Jesus was born in Bethlehem! Please pray for her
future and pray for us…for God to give us wisdom in everything that
we are doing for this little kids…and not only!! Pray for the
support that we need for this project and for all the projects that
we have in Smiles.
Yes, I know, many are struggling because of the financial crisis,
but don't forget what I shared last month - NOW is the time to
invest in God’s Kingdom……because that will NEVER collapse!!.
Thank you so much for your part in all Smiles is doing here in
Romania!
I also managed to go for few days home to my village in Susca, to
see my grandparents - all 4 of them are still alive and I thank God
for that…..I don’t know for how long I have this blessing but I
thank Him for making me a part of their lives…Also I visited my
parents and my brother that lives at home and we had a great time
together.
After the “short holiday” I had ….. also all my staff had holidays
these few days around Easter time……I had to come back at my desk and
see what’s the next step we have to do…..So, looking at the near
future we realised we had a huge container coming to Smiles at the
end of the month and we have to find a place where to store it……so,
we did have to do the “spring clean” in the warehouse, and we had
fun! Real fun.
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 I had all my Cihei Office staff
(Marian and Dana, Angi, Marius, Adi, Georgi, Mioara, Claudia and
myself Monday morning, dressed up ready for the “warehouse war”.
Well, we say that we did good, but when lunch time came we had to
take a break and being so dirty we had to find the best place where
to eat (Dana did not allow us in to the office :) ) so we got two
tables outside by the pool and we had lunch together. It was such a
nice time, a time when we were all together but because of the busy
schedule we all have, we rarely find times like this……but we had
fun.
 Was a great encouragement for me to look at my colleagues and be
happy by having them around me! To know that I work with them and
that together with God’s help, we make a difference in this world!
So…..now that the warehouse is ready we can’t wait to see all the
goodies that come in the Container!!
My dear friends, God is great all the time, and God is a real God, a
God that was/ is/ and will always be alive…We just have to come with
our hearts to Him!! I don’t have all the time “perfect days”, but
what I realized is that every day that I surrender to God, my day is
perfect and under control, but when I decide to do it on my own I
lose each time and I get disappointed!!
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So, pray for me, and pray for God’s wisdom in my life on
everything I do. Pray for my staff in Romania and for the people
that we work with. These times are difficult ones – the financial
crisis has hit Romania as well. One thing that shocked me in a
discussion I had with people that are older than me and know and
lived more during the communist period, was when they did made the
comment: “ this financial pressure hurt us more than we did expect…
You know, for us Romanians living in a crisis is a bit easier than
for other people. During Ceausescu regime we knew that this is what
we had and no more will ever come…..and we did accept the
situation…..but to live now a double life “a crisis in a crisis” is
harder than we did imagine. To live with less now takes a lot, but
to live with nothing is a new lesson that we have to learn again!!”
I pray for His blessings on each of you.
Maria
Previous letters from Maria:
April 2009
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