Dear Friends,

Good News for Romania Newsletter, March 2018.

It’s been a long winter in Romania with some difficult weather conditions but there have also been some nice unusually mild times as well. Christmas was a very exciting time for the children we support, with everyone’s kindness, we were able to send 97 kilograms of new clothes, warm boots, coats, toys, vitamins and gifts. To say the children really appreciated everyone’s generousity is an understatement but they say a very big THANK YOU TO YOU ALL! Rosca family: Oana has now turned 18 and health wise is doing well. Unfortunately, she has had a difficult time with her parents over the winter and the final straw was when her Dad beat her and tied her up, leaving her out in the cold. We don’t know why, but understandably, this really traumatised her. Fortunately, her brother Tiberiu untied her and she ran away to her sister Dana’s. She is ‘ok’ and now has a boyfriend, we just pray for her protection in this relationship as we feel she is just seeking affection. She continues to attend school which we are happy about. Her sister Dana and 2 children are struggling as her husband now has no work and he beats Dana, we’ve had messages begging us for help, we do what we can through GNfR. Sebastian & Tiberiu are still at home but life is a struggle. They’ve stopped going to school which is a worry but they do continue to go to Church, Claudiu & Ada are committed to keeping an eye on them and bringing joy into their lives as much as possible. Bianca, Biencuta & Alex: Unfortunately, things are rather more complicated with this family. Bianca has found a young man online, fallen in love with him and moved out of the apartment and out of town without telling Claudiu & Ada! This was a great shock and extremely upsetting for them as they were very close to the children and are worried about how the children are coping emotionally. Shortly after they left the town, Bianca’s father passed away so when they came to the funeral, Claudiu & Ada were able to see them briefly and were able to give the children their Christmas gifts from GNfR. Alex received lots of Lego that he had only ever been able to dream of owning. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making Alex, and other children smile at Christmas time. They are now living in Austria, we just pray they will all be ok. They will be missed! Milena, Marian & Daniel: Milena continues with her studies and is doing well. She now has a boyfriend so pray this won’t be a distraction from her commitment to continue to study. Marian & Daniel, Milena’s nephews, still live with their grandma, they have a simple life with no luxuries but are loved and cared for. Stela & Andrei: Stela is doing very well and great news is that her Aunt and Uncle got guardianship of her. She can now claim child care payments (which aren’t high) for Andrei but the process is very slow, she waits! GNfR helps with travel costs to school and help for baby Andrei who’s doing very well, she’s a good Mum! Nicoleta& Daniel Postolache: Nicoleta is doing well and is now studying for her Master of science in Biomedical engineering, she’s a very committed young woman and we pray that her future will be bright, she deserves it. Daniel is doing well health wise, the medication is helping his epilepsy and he is having a better quality of life, its good to see the help given by GNfR making a difference in his life. Ruben, Alex & Cristian: These 3 lovely young men continue to do well, their lives aren’t easy but they work hard at school, come along to Church and are always a good support and encouragement to Claudiu & Ada. They really can’t wait for camp and are already planning what they want to do when they are there, if they are fortunate enough to be able to go, we are sure they will! New Family: Claudiu was recently contacted by a new family needing help. The family consist of single Mum Mirela Munteanu and her 5 children, Crina 9, Stefania 7, Stefan 6, Valentin 4, Gabi 2. When Claudiu, Ada & Madalina went to visit them they were shocked to see their living conditions. They were able to give them all clothes & toys that we had sent and there were loads of smiles. This family will continue to be supported by GNfR, spreading a little happiness and sharing the love of Jesus. Vlad, Madalina, Sefania & Rebeca: This is a hard-working family, Vlad is a motor mechanic and now has his own business. Life is very busy and challenging at times but they are amazing. Seeing Madalina grow from a teenager coming on our first camp into a lovely Christian Mum who not only cares about her family, but cares about those less fortunate than her is wonderful. We know she is a blessing and a great support to Claudiu & Ada too which is so encouraging. Barlad Oana & Maria Zanet: Life continues to be a struggle for Oana but she continues to take encouragement from regular chats with Kath. She still struggles with her depression and often feels as if life isn’t worth living. She has held down a part time job recently but it’s come to an end so we pray she will get more work. Her insurance for her medication has risen massively with no explanation why, so that is causing her anxiety but we keep encouraging her that it will all work out in the end, easy to say but not always easy for her to accept! Andrei Dinca: We had an urgent message from Claudiu in November about his young man, Andrei, a lovely Christian young man. From being a young boy, Andrei always said he wanted to be a doctor. All his family, friends and his Church family said he would never achieve this but his Mum believed in him and was the only one to encourage him to go for his dream. This really was a dream as the family were extremely poor and his father was a drinker and made home life very hard. From being very young, he had worked hard doing odd jobs for neighbours and friends in the hope that he would earn enough money to start himself off at university. All credit to Andrei, he applied to get on the course and passed! He is the leader of The Association of Christian Medics in Romania and volunteers for the ambulance service when he isn’t studying. In Romania, if you are in the top 5% of students you get your tuition fees paid, and this happened for Andrei, then, after last September, he had a lot of ‘bullying’ because of his faith and this affected his studies. Our urgent message was that he needed funds to be able to continue the course as his grades had dropped. We prayed about this, made the need known and Andrei received the money he needed…what a boost this was for him! After receiving this news, and words of encouragement from us, he has gone on to be in the top 5% again and is extremely grateful for the support from GNfR. He regularly chats to Kath online and sends his love & thanks and promises to do well, without compromising his faith. His close friend said: “Andrei is a model for us all!” Alexandru Negoi: Some of you may remember Alexandru and his brother Bogdan from a number of years back when they lived on the streets of Barlad and slept in the railway station. GNfR was able to provide them with food and clothing and Claudiu & Ada gave them lots of love and encouragement. Alexandru was in prison for stealing but when he came out later last year, he remembered Claudiu & Ada’s kindness and got in touch with them, visiting them, and sharing with them that he wanted to turn his life around. We pray he can! We also found out that Bogdan is now married to Andreea that GNfR helped many years ago by paying for an operation to correct a turn in her eye and subsequently providing funds for her glasses. They now have 2 children and are very happy. It’s great to have good news and to know that Good News for Romania really has made a difference. Church at Dealu Mare: This is complicated! In brief, the Church was built within the land of the Munteanu family who, over the years, have left the Church and become quite an obstacle. One of the sons (who now works in Italy) contacted us personally telling us that the family no longer wanted the Church where it was and that no one should go there anymore. All the paperwork for the Church was done legally and this problem could probably be fought in court, but after discussion with Claudiu, and knowing some of how the court system works in Romania, we came to the conclusion that the only people gaining anything from going to court would be the lawyers. It was an extremely difficult time for Claudiu & Ada and sadly, after a battle with the family, all the possessions were removed from the Church building. There was some time when everyone met in people’s homes but this wasn’t easy so we have taken a step of faith and we are renting a building in the town. Already 2 new children have come along, we pray they will continue to come and that Claudiu & Ada’s disappointment and despondency will ease, knowing its all in God’s plan. Claudiu & Ada: It’s been a tough winter for Claudiu & Ada. There have been many struggles to deal with both personally and with the work of GNfR. We know how it affects us seeing families in the depths of despair, but for Claudiu & Ada, it must be even harder. They do a remarkable job of loving, encouraging and helping the families and they ask us to pass on their love & thanks for YOUR support and encouragement, it means so much to them. Claudiu had a hard time at work, more and more pressure was being put on him and his health was being affected so he reached the point where enough was enough. Fortunately, he has been able to get another job as a site foreman and he said so far, his life is less pressured and he is able to get more time for him and his family which is so important. The loss of some family members and a friend was a tough time and of course losing Bianca, her children and the Church, hit them hard. Thank you to those who have been praying for them both. NEWS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND: A few months ago, a friend of Mandy’s who works at World Vision was contacted by a group wanting to take on a challenge for Romania. She put us in touch with Geoff, one of a group of policemen from Northern Ireland who in brief, have decided to raise funds to buy a mini bus, fill it with goods needed for the families in Barlad and drive it to Romania late September/early October in as short a time as they can do it. The mini bus and its contents will then be donated to GNfR which is amazing! As most of you know, Kath did a zip wire challenge and bought a mini bus but it is getting older now and we are sure that the one taken over by Geoff and his team will be much better, so the likelihood will be that ours will be sold to raise funds for mini bus insurance/taxation etc which is wonderful. David & Kath: We are planning to take our caravan over to Northern Ireland in the summer to meet Geoff and the team and talk through all the practicalities of the journey, travelling in Romania etc which hopefully, will help their journey to go smoothly. We will also have time to share what the needs are and talk all about the families that are supported by GNfR. David, Kath and Mandy will then fly out to Romania in time to be in Barlad when the team arrive. It will be good to be able to take the team to meet some of the families they are supporting so they can see first hand how life really is there. Romania/corruption: Unfortunately, the corruption in the Romanian government is at record high levels at the minute and is causing many problems for the ‘ordinary’ people there. There are feelings of deep concern about where it is all going to lead, please pray that the corruption will be dealt with and that this beautiful country will be able to prosper once again. Camp 2018: Already, lots of the children are talking about camp this summer, each year, GNfR pays for the children and helpers to have a weeks holiday in the mountains of Romania. It’s a time when the children can be children, instead of working in the fields, fetching and carrying at home etc, they have a great time of fun and fellowship. If you feel you can sponsor a child to go on camp, please could you fill in the attached slip and return it to us, it would mean a lot! We take this opportunity to thank you all again for your continued love and support, not only for the work of Good News for Romania but for us personally, your thoughtful words/cards/little notes of encouragement, love & prayers are wonderful and it really does mean so much, thank you! We trust you are well and wish you every blessing. God bless.

Love David & Kath & Mandy, (our Newport Pagnell co-worker) xxxx PS:

For anyone living in the Newport Pagnell area, Mandy is having a stall at the The World at War Vintage Event on June 9th. Please go along and support Mandy in raising funds for GNfR, we hope to be there too!