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Report for 2016 from Pastor Corneliu Medrea

 

Dear Shoebox Supporters,

We appreciate very much all your efforts to collect shoeboxes gifts, your heart for needy children of Romania and we are so grateful that you are enabling us to organize great moments where the Good News of Salvation was shared, and many children could have a JOYFUL Christmas ! We trust that God will reward you abundantly! Many blessings; Corneliu Medrea (www.betelccb.ro)

 

Children's Aid Foundation - "IMMANUEL HOME" is a Christian residential home which aims at educating children and promoting moral Christian values, establishing personal connections between the children and our saviour Jesus Christ. Every child in Immanuel Home has a difficult past. For example, Rusan, Adrian, Cristi, Ana-Maria, Liliana, and Andrea are 5 siblings who have recently joined the home, and they are between 3 and 12 years old. They come from a very underprivileged family, who have a completely ill-suited house, extremely dirty and damp. The children have been neglected and abused physically (repeatedly belted), poorly clothed and heads covered in lice.

 

Their dad passed away when he was 44 and their mother didn't seem to be much interested in them. The older brothers often took care, to the best of their abilities, of their younger siblings. Through God's mercy they are happy now, they are together, they live in a clean and warm house, they have good food, clean clothes and are well take care of. They were so excited when they got all sorts of presents for Christmas. These were the first presents they had ever got and the best meal they had ever had. My words are not enough to express the joy and the satisfaction these wonderful children experienced.

With many thanks and love in Christ, CAF Manager - Aurel Iuga

 

This is a place for children and teenagers and their need to spend some time constructively in an educational setting; it promotes moral and Christian values and age appropriate Bible talks. The centre is a blessed place for very underprivileged children and their families.

 

The celebration of Jesus' birth is so popular with all the children. We had a special programme and the children's parents, grandparents and other relatives attended as well. Most of them come from an Orthodox background. The hall at the centre was full and everyone seemed to enjoy the Christmas concert presented by their children, who were extremely involved and wanted to give their best so that their parents would be proud of them. Every child got a shoe box at the end and they were so joyful and satisfied.

 

1. Adas Raul- 10 years old, comes from a problematic family, with very low income. Their mother works occasionally, but she is very loving and really tries to take care of them, feed them properly and provide for their needs, so that Child Services don't take her children away. There is no information on the father. The mother was extremely happy that her children got presents for Christmas this year.

 

2. Iulia - 7 years old, lives in a village near Brad and she has to commute in order to get to the centre. Both her parents are alive, but they are not very interested in their daughter. Iulia is raised by her grandmother, who makes sure she gets and education and everything she needs. It is also the grandmother who brings Iulia to the Bible study and the English classes, and she tearfully confessed that she is so happy there are other people who love Iulia and tell her about God and His love for her.

Thank you and may God bless you and your desire to send these shoe boxes.

CC Manager CRISTEA CIPRIAN

 

Many thanks for the support you gave us through the Christmas shoe boxes, given to all the children part of our educational programme. 107 children came to our Christmas event, and, with the other guests and family members, we had about 240 people present. We cannot truly describe the joy these children had, as most of them come from poor families, who need a lot of support. Thank you on behalf of all the children and their families and we pray that God would reward you abundantly. God bless you and the work you are doing!

 

We are grateful to you that again this year children could be blessed through the shoe boxes from you. We had a special Christmas programme with the youth on the 25th of December in Ostrovu Mic church. These were the youth who normally come to church and who bring us great joy. We try to get them as involved as possible in the church activities.

 

On the 26th of December we visited a very poor family in Galati village. Their whole context is a very difficult one. They were extremely happy that someone actually gave them presents. There are 10 people living in the same room. With God's help we are hoping to build a house for them so that at least the children have a better life.

 

On the 26th of December we also had a programme for the children we work with every week. We were thrilled to welcome the children's parents to the event. At the end, we gave them the boxes, which made them very happy and they are very thankful to you. They all got a children's Bible as well. This year, together with the children, we tried to make presents for other children. We visited an orphanage where there are 7 children living. We gave 14 presents that we had made. We were trying to teach the children to give, not just expect to get. Thank the Lord for this work!

 

On the 27th December we visited a few families in Otelu Rosu. These were big families with very low incomes, so we also gave them some food supplies. Then we visited two boys and their mother in Voislova. Their father passed away when he was only 36. They used to live in a village in the mountains and they used to take care of the villagers' animals, but their mother wanted them to go to school properly, so they moved away and now they have to pay rent every month. The children are doing very well at school. Their mother is a very hard-working woman and she is trying really hard to provide for them. They hadn't received any presents since their father died so they were really happy about the boxes.

 

Then we visited a Christian family. The mother has seizures and she told us a few things about her condition. Her daughter is a good girl and she enjoys school. We then visited another extremely poor family. Both parents are struggling with various issues. The father finds work on the day. Their situation is often critical. The presents were a real treat for them.

 

We also went to Iaz village and we visited a family who have 7 children. All 9 people sleep in the one room. Their house is almost ruined. They don't have a toilet inside. The one room is both a bedroom and a kitchen. They all said a big thank you for their presents.

 

Thank you for being a blessing for our country! We pray God would bless you for your kindness.

Pastor Martin Bodor.

 

Our event took place on the 3rd of December. The purpose of the meeting was to glorify God through the Bible message, songs, games, a meal together and the presents. The group we aimed all the activities at was a group of children with special needs from the area. Most of them come from Christian families, but I believe we all need to hear the Gospel at any time.

 

Ion Vantu spoke about God's great gift to humanity, his Son Jesus Christ, and about how we can give to others as well. The children also decorated their own biscuits, then we all had pizza and the children got their presents. Thank you very much for your help with the boxes. May God repay you!

 

We are grateful to the Lord for the amazing way in which he worked through the young people at Vulcan Pentecostal Church, so that all the boxes were delivered to many children belonging to all sorts of social backgrounds, more than we had initially thought of: children from the Vulcan hospital, children at the Lupeni Humanitarian Association, children who live in unsanitary building, the children's choir in Vulcan Pentecostal Church. Thank you for the joy you've brought about in these children's lives through your generosity. May God multiply and give you back abundantly!

 

We would like to thank you for your support this Christmas. By God's grace we were able to give away all the 50 shoeboxes we have received as previously planned, both to the children that attend church services and to poor families in the community.

 

On the 25th of December we had a special programme with the children during the afternoon. On the 26th of December we visited the children that attend church services. Some of them live in very small apartments with their parents and siblings. Each apartment has its own kitchen, but there is only one bathroom at each level. Some of the children that we visited were wearing old dirty clothes while others had no clothes at all.

 

We met one lady that is taking care of three small children besides her son who is now 14 and has obvious mental disabilities. This apartment had only one room with a bed and a wardrobe. Another 'one room' house that we visited had only a door and a window. This family has five small children. They have no electricity, no water. We have also shared gifts with a family that lived in a 'hut' half-dug in the ground. Some of the children that we met there were sleeping. They must have been at least 5 or 6 years old, but still drinking milk from bottles.

 

Thank you for your support and prayers! God bless you!

Yours sincerely, Pastor Alexandru Radu

 

More than any other celebration, Christmas is the most awaited one by the little ones. On Christmas Eve, Grace Church from Orã.tie aimed to bring joy to children from 3 destinations: children of Grace Church and their guests, children from Romo.el Baptist Church and children who live in the disadvantaged areas of the town.

 

In the buildings next to the old stadium from Orastie, are living some families with their children, in very deprived conditions. The youngsters from the Church visited these families, sang carols and offered them shoeboxes. Children from the old stadium buildings, forgot for the moment about the hard conditions they are living in, and rejoiced to the fact that someone thought about them and sent them a gift at this Christmas!

 

Romosel Church had the great joy to host a special programme for children. There were carols and a Christmas message. The children were very joyful when, at the end they received the shoebox gift.

 

Special Christmas events took place at the Bethlehem Centre, at the Old Church building and in Micro 6. As every year, we had many celebrations: with Nursery and Kindergarten, Day Centre, Bible clubs, children from the local orphanage, and even for adults: the parents of children from the afterschool project.

 

This year the children learned about our Saviour's Birth by participating in one of 4 different stations (workshops): the Angels, the Innkeepers, the Shepherds and the Wisemen. After enjoying the Bible story, the carols, the games and crafts in the workshop, the children had to perform in a sketch about Christ's Birth and this way, to show what they had learned in the workshop. All the children had a lot of fun, especially when acting out the characters from Baby Jesus' time. Their joy continued when they received the long awaited presents. We pray that God would continue to work in their hearts and that the children would continue to come to the Bible clubs with the same enthusiasm.

 

Again, God sent us shoebox presents from our friends from UK. All the children were so happy and thankful !!

 

Between the 19th and the 23rd of December we visited, sang Christmas carols to and gave shoeboxes to the children from the local orphanages in Hunedoara and to the underprivileged families at the Riverside and the Phantom Block.