Making Mercy Happen...

Old couch out, new couch in

As my month in Romania winds down, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the many ways RCE extends/ has extended mercy to others while I have been here.  RCE employs some pretty amazing people who are gifted in ways that are hard to put into words. Every where you look you are touched by something or someone. RCE partners with individuals and families to help get specific needs met. Here a few of the many ways RCE is 'making mercy happen' in Romania...

 Project Caring provided a new couch for a mom with four children. They live in a small apartment and have only 2 beds. One of the beds is a couch during the day (very common in Romania), but it was broken and the Mom and one of her daughters didn't have a comfortable place to sleep. She saved some money and RCE matched what she raised. Here are a few of the children with Ovi and Vasile enjoying their new couch!

Hearing aides for this little boy- now he can hear!

This little boy lives in a poor village outside of Arad. When he was younger, it became apparent that he had profound hearing loss, but would benefit from hearing aides. Unfortunately the expense for the hearing aides was way too much for the family to take on. RCE helped provide some funds and now this young boy can  hear!

Elisie and Florin grew up in the state orphanage system in Romania. Without a family, and physically/mentally impaired, they had little hope of every getting out. Thanks to RCE's social team, BOTH Elisie and Florin now have a family!

Elise (front) and Florin (right)and their family!

Widow with 12 children and a new set of teeth!

Many years ago, in a village called Sintana
a woman with 12 children lost her husband suddenly. RCE heard her story and stepped in to help keep the family together. This meant coming alongside them to help assure they had a decent place to live, means for living off the land, and making sure all of the kids remained in school. One of the very last contributions to the family was helping restore some of the Mom's dignity by providing her with a full set of brand new teeth. Now every time she gets a visit from anyone from RCE, she greets them with a big giant SMILE!

 In the small village of Sistarovat (sis-taro-vich), the tiny baptist church needed a new roof. It was a big project that required lots of resources the church didn't have. RCE came into partnership with the church and helped provide materials and labor to install a new roof. Church members also helped out. The new roof was installed just last week and this Sunday the congregation will be together worshiping again!

Sistarovat Baptist Church

This young girl has many needs. She is currently under RCE's care at one of our recuperative Darius Houses. She has benefited from the expertise of one of our psychologists as RCE's social team looks for a family for her.

Many children in the small, poor, remote villages in Romania never have a chance at receiving a sound education. One of the ways RCE helps assure that there is a chance for a brighter future for these children is by finding creative ways to help them get to and stay in school.  The quality of the education provided at the village schools (if there even is one) is sub-standard while the education provided in the city schools is much better. RCE helps by providing school supplies, back packs and bus fare ($40-50 per month depending on the distance) so village children can get into the city, receive a quality education and have a brighter future. The girl on the left in the picture above is one of the many students receiving RCE's support. Her sister will soon follow.

Medical needs are great in Romania and so is the need for provision of vitamins, nutritional supplements and medicines of all kinds. RCE regularly helps families stay as healthy as possible by helping provide necessary medicines and medical care. 
This young boy from a family we visited in Fiscut needed surgery at the hospital in Arad. RCE helped cover some of the cost of the pre-surgical testing and some of the surgical cost.  He is home resting now and is doing fine.

Resting after surgery

A family that lives off the land needs animals. Especially if the family is large and can care for the animals. RCE helped make a dream come true for this man and his large family by providing a cow. Not every family can care for a cow, but this family has several older children that can help. When we went to look at the cow, the man was very pleased with the shape it was in and the amount of milk it produced each day. The cow will be delivered to his family this week.

A new home for a poor family...

yet another new home...

RCE works very closely with many poor families and adoptive families to assure that they have a decent place to live. This might mean adding an indoor bathroom to a home, an extra room for a newly adopted child, or in some cases helping build a new house entirely.

After School Program

A new group of orphans is emerging in Romania as many parents are emigrating to Spain, Italy and other European countries in order to find work. Their children are often left behind with older siblings grandparents, or other relatives. RCE has started providing an after school program in an elementary school that serves under-performing, poor students in one part of the city. The program provides tutoring by a trained teacher and volunteers, supervision of activities and a hot meal. This young boy is 10 years old and he's staying with his older sister while his mom is in Italy working. If the kids didn't have this program, the teacher told me, they would be on the street till late at night.

Back from the store with 'food package' supplies

RCE provides food packages for poor families each month. Doina prepares them and delivers them. She told me that they include the following: 3 cans of pate, so families have something ready made if an emergency arises; 2 bottles of cooking oil to use for cooking or to make margarine; 2 tubs of margarine used to put on sandwich bread for kids school lunches; 1 bag of rice used to make sarmale and other dishes such as orez cu lapte; 2 packages of noodles which can be boiled and made with cheese, walnuts or meat; 1 bag of flour always needed for many things including thickening stew so people feel full after they've eaten; 2 bags of sugar; and always something sweet such as a bag of cookies or crackers.

Romanian words of the day:

Days of the week:

Monday= Luni (loo-nee)
Tuesday= Marti (martz)
Wednesday= Miercuri (me-er-cur-i)
Thursday= Joi (zhoy)
Friday= Vineri (vin-ear-i)
Saturday= Sambata (sam-bah-ta)
Sunday= Duminica (du-min-ica)