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Report from Region 6
The South West - February 2011
It was
in 2002 that we went to Romania on our first Smiles mission trip and
we have been amazed at the many developments that we have been
fortunate to witness and be a part of over the last eight years.
 Last
December we saw the farm at Arpasel for
the first time, and were privileged to be on the first mission trip
tour of the newly acquired Joint Facility of
Love in Salonta which we know will make a wonderful difference
to the lives of many disadvantaged people when it is finished. We were
also thrilled to see the shop and congratulate
Octavia on achieving such encouraging results in her first few
weeks of trading.
 While
these new projects are exciting and challenging, we’ll never forget
the initial shock when Kevin proposed in 2002 that we open a school
for the gypsy children in Tileagd. Or the reaction when Stephen
Woodward dared us to dream for the Tileagd complex in 2005.
Yet our God brought each of these projects to fruition in such
wonderful ways!
 In March
last year we were challenged to source, fill and fund the shipment and
conversion of a container for the Salard community and, at the time,
we had no idea where to start. Nine months on and people from across
our region have filled one container and the second is well on the way
– we hope to ship them within the next few weeks.
A
special thanks to Peter Jones, husband to
Mary who is currently our sole ambassador in our region, for making
such a superb model of a converted container that has proved
invaluable in sharing the concept and vision of
The Container Project at presentations and exhibitions. In
fact, the model is so good that Peter kindly made enough to give one
to each DA across the UK!
Working with Smiles has brought challenges, fears and surprises but
more than anything it has shown that our God is able to meet all our
needs – and more besides! We continue to be humbled by the
enthusiasm and energy of the whole Smiles team and we are constantly
looking for more opportunities to share the work and needs of The
Smiles Foundation.
In
December we gave a talk to our local Rotary Club, and in January took
a morning service at Avesbury Baptist Centre near Stonehenge. We aim
to contact 10 new churches each month to offer a presentation –
if you can introduce us to a church in the
Southwest please forward us some contact details!
Keith
and Sandra Jones
Development Associates for the Smiles Foundation – Region 6
Region 6
includes: Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire,
Gloucestershire, Avon, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. |
