Report from Georgi Opreanu,
Director of Elderly Care
SERVING
It’s summer, and almost everyone is thinking to have
a holiday somewhere nice or just returning
from one. As I start to write this report, several people asked me
when I
will go
on holiday, where I
will go…and so on, but I don’t want to write
about my holiday plans, but about a thought that came in my mind from
talking ‘holidays’.
It
doesn’t matter where we go, where we are, we can’t
take holiday from serving. We can’t take a holiday from fulfilling
God’s plan for our lives. Yes we get tired, we feel we
have had enough at times and we need to take
a break from our responsibilities, but wherever we go and whatever we
do, we can’t stop serving, because this is what God has called us to
do. There are many ways in which we can serve those around us and we
just need to ask God for direction and wisdom.
We at The Smiles Foundation are serving 84
elderly now, so not much time for holiday! Currently we care for 29
elderly in JFL I, 10 elderly with dementia in JFL II and 45 residents
at ECO. We thank God for His blessings upon us every day.
In my last report I was telling you about
Lady Terezia, her medical condition started to
deteriorate and we had to take
her to the hospital, but unfortunately
her situation didn’t improve. We saw a few pictures with her from last
autumn, she was a different person. In the last months when she was
home alone she didn’t take her medication as she had severe cardiac
problems and it started to be more severe. She past away a few days
after she came back from hospital, but we are encouraged that she had
a good last few days, she lived with dignity and received the care she
needed.
If you remember in my last report I was
quoting Matthew 25.34-36: "Come,
you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was
hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I
needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me."
The priest that conducted the funeral ceremony read those
exact words and referred to the Smiles Foundation, thanking us for all
the good we did for this lady, even
though we didn’t know her. It was an
encouragement for me to see that God is validating our work, once
again. I just pray for us all to hear these words
"come you who are blessed"
when we finish our journey here on earth. Thank you for
your prayers and support for lady Terezia.
This past month we lost Lady Maria
Somolan, she was with us since 2013, one of our first residents at
JFL I. She came to us at age of 84 and prior to JFL she lived in an
old house with her son. After her husband died she had to take care of
the house but she couldn’t do the fire in the house and most of the
day she was on her own, needing to cook and clean for her son. The
major problem was that the son abused her psychologically and
sometimes physically when he was getting drunk.
Unfortunately her medical condition
wasn’t good, because for many years she didn’t take treatment for her
chronic bronchitis, cardiac problems and rheumatism. In many
aspects, her life changed after she came to be cared in JFL. She
had treatment for all her medical problems, cooked food and didn’t
need to worry for anything. She could rest in the day time and sleep
at night time, knowing that she was safe and nothing bad would happen
to her. She was a part of our family and although she is not with
us anymore, we as her family believe she had a good end to her life.
Even
though it is
summer, we had teenagers and youth coming to serve our elderly through
worship. A group from Chisinau-Cris, Arad County came for an
evening of fellowship in JFL. We were so blessed to have them and it
really encouraged the elderly. The groups from Emanuel Church are
coming every Sunday to Eco for a time of worship and the residents
feel it’s a special day. We feel blessed to know we are not alone and
others have the desire to serve along with us.
All this summer I saw many of you taking
holiday from your jobs and you came to serve in Romania. You
didn’t choose to spend your time off work in an exotic country but you
decided to serve God by coming in a country with many opportunities to
serve. You’ve been the hands and feet of Jesus, maybe many times
without knowing, serving those that by human standards should not be
served, love those that are unlovable, build houses, bring a smile on
many faces, share the little that you have with those that have
nothing.
Maybe you think it’s not much, but for some
you will be the only one that: gives them food that week, smile with
them, give them a hug, show you care and save them from despair. As I
was thinking of you and your sacrifice, I was remembering this verse
from bible " In everything I did, I showed you that by this
kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the
Lord Jesus himself said: "It is
more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35 NIV
To those that decided to spend their summer
holiday here, I thank you and may God bless you with joy that comes
from giving away what God gives you!
With
sincere thanks,
