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A Letter from Maria's Desk...
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Another year has gone by!!!
 I’m
in my office looking out the window and wondering where 2013 has
gone!
On reflection, it was a good year. Some ups
and downs of course, but I’m thankful to God for being close to me
all the time!
This year I got married to a very nice guy, Cornel. But
also this year I lost a dear friend, my
grandmother.
This year I started new projects and closed others…but I’m
thankful to God because He has everything under control!
I’m sure that 2013 also left in your heart things that you will
remember forever.
From my desk, let me tell you a few things that I did this past
month. It was a "fixed desk", so that is good news.
With Mr Hoy in the UK, things in Romania needed to be kept
under control! That is a hard task to do when you have so many
things going on and so many people to manage. I’m happy to have
Georgi, Adi, Simona and ALL my colleagues that are involved in
Smiles & Sminro who helped make these things possible. Is it a
huge challenge to balance working with less money but still doing
the same amount of work that you did before. I’m amazed to see how
God makes it all work, because if it was by our strength, many
times we would have missed the mark.
 Because I have
more "free time!" when Mr Hoy is away (at least this is what
people believe :) I have done a few
things that I love doing!
I’ve helped with the
re-decoration for two of the
shops we have in Oradea and Alesd!
I love playing with colours, moving
furniture around and generally creating a nice environment!!
Hope you enjoy these pictures showing the work we did!
Also, being more office based this
past month, I’ve heard a lot of sad stories from the beneficiaries
coming on our desks.
A few of them really shocked me and are
heavy on my heart and I can’t stop thinking of them. One day
recently, our social workers Nelu and Marius came back from a very
sad case. A family with 6 kids plus mum and dad. Mum has terminal
cancer and dad has to look after the kids. Some of the children
are adopted
but now living as one big family with their own
children. Another sad story was about a baby boy, 2 years old, who
for the last 3-6 months did not feel very well. His mother took
him to the emergency room and found out that he
has a tumour on the brain. I have known the mum for 10 years and I
was happy when she told me she was
pregnant!! So, now to hear this news is so sad. BUT I’m sure that
God can make a miracle.
PLEASE pray for them!
Our office telephone is ringing ALL the time
with sooo many requests for help!
Some we can respond to fast but
with some of them, we can’t really do anything especially if they
are not Bihor County based. I know times are hard and money
is short, but PLEASE - if you can spare a
little, even £10 or $10 to donate , please do that and send it to
Smiles.
WINTER IN ROMANIA IS HARD!
I’m
thankful to God that I have a warm house to stay in, food to eat,
a warm office to work at and a good car that starts every morning
and is safe on the road, but I can’t stay still when people around
me are having soooo many needs! I often say that if I owned a bank
I would be able to do it all…….but I realised that is the wrong
way to think. I might not own a bank or a money factory to do
things with, but I have clothes, or a food parcel, or a small
amount of money that CAN GO A LONG WAY!!!! I have two arms that
can give a hug to someone that needs it, I have legs that can walk
to the hospital with the person who needs support. I have a car to
take them if it helps. I have a SMILE on my face that I can share
with the people and guess what - THAT IS
FREE!!!
Now Christmas is very close. Lots of gifts going around and sadly,
lots of money will be wasted.
As I wrote recently for the
Smiles 200 Club Newsletter
- We all have wishes for Christmas and no
matter what our circumstances are, we try to fulfil them. I don’t
know what your wish is for this Christmas, but for some people and
especially kids in Romania, they have plenty on the wish-list but
they do not have much hope to see any materialise.
Do you remember the words of the song ‘Grown Up Christmas List’?!?!??
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"No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end ......
This is my grown-up Christmas list"
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What a
wonderful wish. These are significant wishes, but many of our
children in Romania have wishes that are a little less demanding
and with your help, a little more achievable. Some of the kids in
our projects have ‘Wishes’ for this Christmas that will shock you.
Some of them want a
toy, some ask for
a doll.
Some just a
chocolate, some would like a
bag of wafers…… there are some who
just want to overcome sickness and have a healthier life in 2014!
My wish and prayer for this Christmas is to see lots of kids
happy! BIG SMILES!! And lots of them!!! I can do a lot here with
our staff and volunteers to make the arrangements – but I need
your help in the next few days if we are to make a start
delivering Christmas Gifts on December 9th.
ANY HELP is welcome! A small
amount can go a long way!!!
So my dear friend, I really hope and pray that THIS CHRISTMAS will
be special for you too!
I’m happy to know that you are reading my report and I’m happy to
receive words of encouragements from you ALL anytime.
I pray for God’s blessings over
you ALL and can‘t wait to see you in 2014. Here in Romania, the UK
or America! But if not here, then in OUR ETERNAL HOME - HEAVEN,
one special day!
Have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. Be in touch again
in 2014!
With lots of love
Maria
Maria Hava
,
Director of Operations, Romania
PS…… I would also like to say
THANK YOU to Mr Hoy and Dawn that make this page
happen every single month throughout the year! You are special and
have a "good place" in my heart. THANK YOU
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Previous letters from Maria:
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