Maria’s News, “Let it go..” October 2020
Let it go…
Easy to say, hard to do!! Right?!?!
I LOVE the Bible verse from Ecclesiastes 11: 1, that says it sooooo nice:
Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. NIV translation
or
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. KJV
How many times in life did you feel that what you are doing is not of a value? Yet, there might be out there – somewhere, somebody that you ‘changed his or her life’!
This past month was emotionally difficult for me. I felt like I was running out of bread! Over the years, I cast it in so many places and yet did not see the results I dreamed of, or prayed for. Did God not listen my prayers?! I’m sure He did, but He had a better plan than the one I could think of! But I keep asking myself if I did ok? Is God pleased with what l do?
September started with a small mission team! AMAZING. I’ve soooo missed the teams this year! But I enjoyed the time spent with our friends Sam, Lynda and Anne-Marie. Thank you so much for your time with us here in Romania during these difficult circumstances. Your help, support, and prayers are greatly valued.
On September 14th – schools and nurseries opened their doors for the first time in 6 months. If you read Mr Hoy’s mid-month update, you can see that we are in the process of restructuring. This includes Tileagd too and more news will follow in the coming months, but for now – the restructuring is about improving our educational support to the Tileagd community.
I’m over the moon with the new proposal BUT it was still very very hard to LET GO of the past. For 17 years we cast the bread on the water, and it felt at times that it ‘sunk’. I was encouraged by Monica, our Nursery Director who said to me : “we need to continue to invest in these kids, because the seeds are there“. She told me about an experience that she had while she was doing the after-school program with our kids a few years back. She always felt that she did not see the results she wanted. BUT today, nearly 3 years later, because she has two of the teenagers working OFFICIALLY in the nursery, she had time to chat with them.
She kept hearing how amazing, and what an impact she left in their life. Particularly in Monia’s life! This year, Monia is 18 years old. In the school she was a ‘naughty kid’. Once she finished 7th grade things started to change! Today she is a very mature, hard-working kid. Very conscientious and respectful. In their culture (and in my mind too) she is a really good example because she now has a full time job, pays taxes to the state, she is not married, and she does not even have a mobile phone!!!!!:). People like Monia are a great encouragement to have. Please pray for her that she will take the public step declaring God as her Saviour in baptism. She is sooo close to it.!
In the Nursery at the moment, we have 39 kids registered! Really Amazing. I like to say that the kids in nursery are like a clean notebook. They come to us as a blank sheet of paper and together we start building them a foundation through education. With love and patience, we do this for nearly 17 years now and it can be so rewarding when you see progress. We now have six people employed at the nursery. So I would ask you to continue to pray for the team and support the work as you are able.
On the School side, September brought a few changes. Now I see them positively, even if at the time, it was very hard to accept. So, after 17 years of functioning in our building, the formal school itself went from us to the state building! The Covid period did not help us, so we had to take decisions even if they were hard. The kids have been divided and integrated within the Romanian school, which in itself, is very positive. It means that grades 1 to 4 are at one side of the town (closer to our nursery) and 5 to 8 grades on the other side. (in the town centre)
Once they finish the school they come to our complex and have lunch. With the help of a teacher they do their homework. Once a week we plan Kids Church Club! So, all in all, we hope for better results. For 20 years we took them by the hand to school, and l pray that one by one, they will get to Jesus too. PLEASE PRAY for ALL the kids, teachers, other staff and parents in ALL our projects!!!
During September, we managed to get nearly 100 kids from our projects, school bags, essentials for their school work. We received 42 school back bags from our friends at the Rotary Club here in Oradea and another 50 from a businessman in Oradea, a dear friend of ours who wants to keep anonymous. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH for being a part of it!!
And, I could go on and on, but I do not want to close my report before I tell you the MOST AMAZING experience from September. Once the school started, Mr Hoy and me had a meeting with the kids and shared options for their future programs based in the church. I was shocked 2 Sundays ago, when nearly 60 of them were present in the Sunday morning service!
Meda and Ghiuri are still doing a great job, even if they get older with less energy!! Please pray for them too. They need a lot of encouragement in times like today when respect for older people around is less and less.
So, my dear friends, thank you for being there for us in these weird times just as you were in the good times. But I have a true feeling we are entering a really good time in the story of Tileagd.
I know that soooooo many of you ‘cast the bread on to the water’ and at times you might wonder if it will bring back any results! I tell you – I believe IT WILL!!! IF we can’t see it here on the earth, I’m sure that in Heaven God will show us everything!!!
Be blessed and thank you for being a blessing.
In His service
Maria
Maria Hava – Director of Operations (Romania)
maria.cimpoca@thesmilesfoundation.org
