Talpos Today October 2005

 

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from Romania ! Autumn has arrived and I have been enjoying the magnificent view of the countryside as the leaves change colors. God created such a beautiful world!

Well for the past month, I have had to take things a little slower than normal. I'm sure many of you heard that I had a problem with my ankle. I stepped on one of the children's shoes and I twisted my ankle severely. I treated myself at home for about 4 days, but the swelling persisted and it was difficult to walk so I decided it was time to visit the doctor.

I had some x-rays taken and the doctor told me that I had a grade 3 sprain with a small fracture. Because of where the fracture was, thankfully I was able to wear an aircast and didn't have to deal with a regular cast. My orders were to stay off my feet for the first few days as much as I could and once the swelling was down I was permitted to walk around some, but with limitations. Let me tell you, that was not easy for me :) but it was a good time for me to rest and regroup after the business of the summer. God really blessed and helped me during my “down” time. ( He surely knows what we need and when we need it even better than we do).

I have since been back to the doctor and he said that my ankle is healing well. I have to wear my aircast for another month and I am still supposed to be careful about how much activity I do, so it's slow going for a little while longer, but at least I can still go :). Thank you so much for your prayers and e-mails during this time. It was such an encouragement to know that you were praying for me.

Before my little incident, I had the orphans over to my house for a special occasion: Nicoleta's birthday. We ate pizza, cake and ice cream, played balloon volleyball and some other fun games. The kids had never seen confetti and played with that too (almost all of them have it on their faces in the pictures) We had a great time! A big thanks to Brother Tom from Maine who sponsored this party. He had been to Romania to visit last year and he and his family have been keeping in contact with Nico. They wanted to make sure that she had a special birthday and she certainly did, as you can tell by the smile on her face.

The four little ones from the orphanage and I went on a “field trip” to the zoo. We had been learning about animals and I figured a little trip to see the animals would be enjoyable and educational. Of course we also got to eat at their favorite restaurant “McDonalds” (the only one they know) and also stopped at one of the parks to play. We had a wonderful time, but by the end of the day we all were exhausted .

I had mentioned to you in my last letter about Mircea, one of the teens from my group, He is the boy on the right of the picture. He had become a Christian last winter and had plans on being baptized this fall. Well, this summer he started hanging out with some of his old friends and got involved in some activities he shouldn't have. Now he hardly comes to church and rarely attends Bible study. He says he's not ready to leave his old ways. I am asking you to pray for Mircea that God would speak to His heart and help him to see that the pleasures of the world are only for a season and that true satisfaction and real peace only come from the Lord. The other teens are doing well and God has been helping them. What a joy to see them maturing in their faith!

As the cold weather arrives, Christmas time comes to my mind. There will be practices to have, programs to plan and packs to work on. As you know for the past three years Christmas packs have been handed out to the children and poorer families in Talpos and Batar and we would like to do that again this year. Every year you have been so generous in your giving for the Christmas project. So many lives have been blessed by your generosity and once again I am bringing the need before you. With your gifts, you will help to make the holidays more special for many children as you did in the past for these little ones.

This year we at H.I.M. have decided to combine the Christmas project with the Hope Christian Fellowship Center project. What this means is that what monies are left after the Christmas packs are completed will go toward the building fund. We would like to start phase two of the fellowship center this spring, but we are still thousands of dollars short for this to be possible. So I am asking you to pray about what God would have you to give.

If you are interested in being involved in these projects, please send your gift marked specifically “Romanian Christmas Fund” to:

Hope International Missions
P.O. Box # 1065
Hobe Sound, FL 33475-1065

May God bless you!

In His Service,

Sally

Some would gather money
Along the path of life.
Some would gather roses
And rest from earthly strife.
But I would gather children
From among the thorns of sin;
I would seek a golden curl
And a freckled, toothless grin.
For money cannot enter
Into the land of endless day,
And roses that are gathered
Soon will wilt along the way,
But oh, the laughing children,
As I cross the sunset sea,
And the gates swing wide to heaven
I can take them in with me.