Hope Community Center update

    01.20.25 |

    Thank you for all the blessings you send our way, for connecting with us in prayer for the situations that we tell you about, and for being our friends. We need friends like you, and we thank God He made things in such a way that we work together for His Kingdom.

    November was a steady activities month, with our routines of homework, devotionals, spiritual programs, Bible stories, cooking, cleaning, and more. The in-between is sometimes what makes the difference. In between this month, there was a 10-year-old girl who spilled hot oil on her leg when she walked by the cooking stove and had second-degree burns. She asked us to bandage it, but we realized it was too bad and advised her parents to take her to the hospital. They did, and she is healing well now. Her father recently gave his heart to the Lord, but sometimes it seems the girls (there are 6 girls in the family) are doing their best to get out of the prayer and worship times we have with the kids, it’s like they make it a point to literally run away from God.  We see that the Lord wants to do something in their family but the enemy places many obstacles in their way. Please pray for complete surrender in the family, and for the mother to also receive the Lord, she is indifferent to the idea.

    We have a gang of boys who fight over who is going to be playing the Cajon while singing.  We are happy they want to participate and offer their skill to the Lord, but we want them to experience themselves that it’s not just the beat, it’s something special that happens when you play for Jesus. Iomer, in the 4th grade, is one of the good ones.  Iomer has the best rhythm, and they say he should always play. He has a soft heart, is smart, and loves learning Bible stories and giving the right answers. We pray he will soon choose to receive Jesus in his heart and influence the ones around him for the better.

    We started celebrating Thanksgiving with the kids. We probably won’t be able to have a similar meal, but we want them to learn to find the good, and not see only the bad things. We celebrated by having them write what they are thankful for on a construction paper leaf and glue them all on a few branches. It is hard to see the good with so many negative situations, poverty, and lack of many things. But we pray that they will learn to change their attitude and thank the Lord for the good things they have.

    Our kindergarten kids are learning to be thankful for the fruit and vegetables and made salads. They love the fruit salad, but they love being the ones who make it more. At the end of November, we had a family of 8, the Christophersons, visiting us from Wisconsin in the States. They visited the center and served them lunch. We also had an all-area youth meeting where our teenagers could ask the Christopherson kids questions. We discovered that all teenagers are similar all over the world. They taught us to be respectful to parents and good servants at an early age. 

    December 1st was Romania’s National Day, and the kindergarten group celebrated by taking pictures in a traditional costume. They were so cute! They decorated cookies for Christmas and got to take home what they worked on. They were so proud! Our friends from Big Love visited us and brought a beautiful story and craft from a couple that our kids adored, and also the kids’ favorite fast food: shawarma! They don’t get to have it very often because it is so costly and too far away to go buy.  They were very excited and grateful! The last two weeks of 2024 went by very quickly, consisting mostly of preparing for and celebrating Christmas, with one big special event for the kids and their families. 

    In December we had our first wedding party at our church in Cărămidari. The couple has been living together for about 12 years and has 4 children. A few years back, they gave their life to the Lord.  Last summer they decided to be part of our church.  Gabi advised them it would be good to get legally married and receive God’s blessing. On December 12th, they had their civil wedding, and on the following Sunday, we had a special ceremony for them at the Hope Center.

    The miracle that we as an organization witnessed in each of our locations was how God provided an abundance of Christmas presents for the kids we serve.  We were able to see how God provided generous hearts and hands, and we had enough gifts to give to all children in all our locations. From the beginning of November, we told the kids we don’t have any guarantee of gifts, so they need to pray every day.  It was nice to remind them of that when they came to the Christmas event and saw all the presents underneath the tree. It was a great opportunity to learn that the Lord cares for them and answers their prayer. Everything we needed for the meal was ready, so we had a beautiful event with happy children, families, and team. God is so good!

    Thank you again for making 2024 so beautiful for us, the kids, and their families in Caramidari! Many of them wouldn’t have been as thankful if it weren't for you at the end of the year. 

    May God continue to bless you in the new year and keep you safe and close to Him! We believe for new things in 2025, and we pray the same for you! God bless you!

     

    Hope Center Celebration 2024