August 29, 2005

Dear Friends and Partners,

This past month has literally been a rollercoaster. I had a wonderful excursion to France and Switzerland. It was a bus tour, and Anne Schempp, one of our loyal NOROC (New Opportunities for Romanian Orphaned Children) supporters and daughter to Carol and Rich Schempp, accompanied us. She has made many friends here in Tulcea and everyone showed up at the train station to send her off.

Anne was in Tulcea only a few days, but one of the highlights was taking all the kids to the circus. This was wonderful! I was a treat to see so many wide-eyed faces. None of the kids had ever been to the circus before. Dragos negotiated a nice discount for us from the normal price of 120.000 lei down to 40.000 lei. This was a tribute to Dragos’ skill as a negotiator, as we had tried every other year unsuccessfully. The favorite part for the kids was the snake act. The animals were “sort of” trained. They did not have lions or tigers or elephants but it was still the atmosphere of the big tent, with juggling, acrobats, and clowns. The juggling was made exciting by the fact that the guy juggled fire bowling pins. He had not previously been able to keep even rubber balls in the air! We got our money’s worth for the three-hour show. Children who had never been able to sit still for even a fraction of a second sat wide-eyed and spell bound. They even let us get on the stage afterwards and take a picture.

Cristian Center has no free rooms so all the babies and toddlers will be in two rooms. They have no cribs so babies will sleep on regular beds. There is neither a playroom available nor space for one. Of course they can now say they have closed Cocorii, but it is a crime to put these kids in the handicapped center. Even if they eventually build the two houses, these children will be traumatized in the meantime. They are not transferring staff with them, and the staff at Christian Center is already over worked. Our grannies will accompany the kids, so this will be a small comfort, but not enough. We had wonderful playrooms built in Cocorii that were specialized according to the age of the babies. The magnitude of this has not really set in. It is a criminal negligence.

Aurelia ran away from CRISP and hitchhiked to Mahmudia. We did not know where she was for 24 hours. We are leaving her with her father for the time being until we can figure out what to do next.

We also celebrated Bianca’s 18th birthday with a party. It was a low-key affair, but nice. It is a milestone she made it this far. Everyday I do not think she will make another day but she keeps improving bit by bit. There is a kernel of sweetness in her, and she is beginning to really have feelings for others. It is a miracle that in the two years we have been supporting her she has not been in any real trouble, so this is a cause to celebrate.

I give thanks to God everyday for all of you. Without your prayers and support we could not reach these children.

Prayer requests

• for Aurelia, that she can find peace of mind.
• for the babies who are about to have their lives torn apart.

Thanksgiving for our graduates

• Mihai C. graduated from post high school and is now working.
• Gabi Stoika graduated with his teaching certificate specializing in teaching Roma children.
• Florin graduated from high school and will be attending military academy.
• Camellia graduated from high school and will be attending the university in social work.
• Cherasela graduated from high school and will be going to the university to be a philosophy teacher.

These last two are young women who are still under the protection of the department. They are the first female high school graduates in a long time. We are very proud of them!

Love from the bottom of my heart,

Mary

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 181