Dear Friends,

Visit to Romania: 19th – 28th June 2019.

Well it was time once again to go to visit Barlad where we looked forward to seeing the families supported by Good News for Romania again. Although we haven’t been since October, Kath is in touch online regularly with Claudiu & Ada and a number of the young people there. 3 days before we left Bolton, Oana Zanet contacted Kath in quite a distressed state. She had tried to take her own life. Kath was able to chat to her and kept in touch over the following days and just prayed that she would be kept safe. Oana & Maria: On arriving in Barlad, our first stop was to see Oana (26) and her Mum Maria. Oana was less anxious and very happy to see us and was pleased that we had suggested going to the monastery where her brother Bogdan is a monk. On arriving there, Bogdan was waiting to greet us. Unfortunately, on arrival, Mandy fell backwards down 7 concrete steps, so after a short time, we had to go to the hospital. The one and only x-ray machine had broken down so we had to wait for it to be repaired and over 5 hours later, the outcome was that Mandy had small breaks in her wrist and elbow so was in plaster for the rest of the trip! Our time at the hospital made us realise that we should never complain about our NHS, Barlad hospital conditions are not great and whilst there, Kath was bitten over 40 times by mosquitoes which left her rather spotty. Oana, who has good English, was able to stay with us at the hospital and was a great help translating. She was also happy to show us her thesis which she had just finished to finalise her degree in English and Spanish. She had to go 80 miles to personally hand it in on the Tuesday and was quite stressed but it went ok. The following week she had to go again to be interviewed about her thesis and we heard she got 9.5 out of 10, well done Oana! She went to the monastery to stay for a week after her interview, to, in her words, be safe. We keep her in our prayers. The following day, we had the joy of visiting The Delia Foundation Vibrant Kids Centre which we visited last October. It was near completion and we met the people from America and England who run this wonderful place. The children, who are from foster families or a local orphanage, have varying degrees of physical and mental needs and go to the centre daily. They don’t get education, physiotherapy, life skills and other help they need from the state so ‘Vibrant Kids’ gives them the professional help they need. We watched Miruna (7) learning to hold a pencil, being taught colours and having physiotherapy, we also witnessed a little boy, David (6), smiling, something he rarely does. We are happy to give some support to this place which we know will make a difference to all the children who go there. Danut, Emilia, Tiberiu & Sebastian Rosca: We were once again able to visit this family with Claudiu & Ada. It was especially good to see the solar panel paid for by GNfR and ‘BeTheChange’ that supports GNfR. This was installed recently and has changed the lives for the whole family. GNfR has been helping here for many years but because both parents had a drink problem, we limited the help, explaining to them that when they stopped drinking, we would help them more. Thank God, they have been sober for nearly 2 years now so helping them means so much! They have had no electricity for over 8 years and now they have 3 light bulbs. When the lights came on, Tiberiu, 14, said “thank God for light!” Dad was so happy and kept crying saying thank you over and over again. When the job was finished, the man who installed the solar panel said: “please don’t ever ask me to go to a place like that ever again, I have never seen such poverty in my life, I can’t cope with it!” He lives about 3 miles away and had no idea that people had to live in such a way. The plan now is to buy a low wattage fridge and TV, and also, as Dad is a welder, we are going to get him welding equipment so he can work. We have already had offers of some financial help to go towards making this happen, amazing! We would also like to try and get running water to the house because at the minute, they have to walk some distance to the well for every drop of water, hopefully this will help make their lives a lot easier. Ada spent time talking to the family about camp in early August and Emilia asked if she could please go on camp because she has never been away from the village…..she will go! Lidia & grandchildren: The news about this family isn’t good. A few weeks ago, ‘Child Protection’ went to the school where 4 of the grandchildren were and told them they were ‘going on a trip.’ This ‘trip,’ was to take them into care. ‘Child protection’ then went to Lidia’s house where Darius was home with his older brother, Lidia wasn’t home. They took Darius away so when Lidia returned home, the youngest 5 of the 10 grandchildren she cared for had gone! Carla,6 & Arriana, 7 in one foster home, Patric, 4 & Darius, 3, in another and Amalia, 9 on her own in another foster home. Lidia and her Barlad d husband had no notification of this happening and are seriously traumatised by this. We know life was hard for Lidia but the children were loved and cared for the best they could be. We were hoping to visit Lidia and all the children but because Lidia has been visiting the children and ‘causing problems/trying to get them back,’ she’s been banned from visiting them so ultimately we were too. Ada has contacted the children’s mother who works in Italy, pleading with her to come back to help to get the children back but she has refused, dreadful and so sad! We went to see Lidia but unfortunately she wasn’t home. Cristina was there but she was unwell having just had her appendix removed. She told us that the girls had settled down ‘ok’ but the boys were not settled at all and Amalia, is very sad indeed, wandering up and down the street crying. It’s heartbreaking. Claudiu explained that Child Protection does not have a good reputation and in fact when we were there, we saw on the TV, a 9 year old gypsy girl, who was going to be adopted by an American couple, being dragged out of the foster home screaming, this was all done in full view of people watching on and cameras. This incident has been brought to the attention of the Romanian parliament, it was dreadful to watch. Please remember Lidia and all that family that have been torn apart so brutally. Single mum Mirela & her 5 children: We also went to visit Mirela and the children who were thrilled to see us. Claudiu explained that life is still a struggle for them but told us that they have been put onto a programme that is funded by the EU. Their priest has helped them to get onto this project and it means the children can attend a centre each day after school to get help with their homework and get a hot meal. This helps a lot! It would be good if more families could receive the same help but the programme has limited numbers. Mirela explained to us that Child Protection have started visiting their home watching the children. They are very poor but they are loved so there is no reason for them to be taken away, please pray for their protection. Mihai & Oana Munteanu and children: It was lovely to visit this family, the 5 children are all well cared for and loved. Mihai is a hard working man and although they don’t have a lot of money, every bit of money Mihai earns goes to give his family the best. The whole family will go on camp in August and Mihai & Oana will be a good help and support to Claudiu & Ada. Seeing Vlad, Madalina, Stefania & Rebeca again was lovely. They will all go on camp with Madalina helping there. Vlad looks after the minibus for us keeping it in good condition. It’s great to know that it is kept in a road-worthy condition so that our children are kept as safe as possible. Dana, Andreea (7) Beatrice (2 1/2): We also went to see Dana and the children, Dana had been in touch with Kath saying the house where she lived belonged to her husband’s uncle who had just come out of prison for murder. He has made it clear he doesn’t want Dana there any more and so she was hoping we could maybe help her to build a small building at the back of the plot of land. Unfortunately, her uncle and his niece found out we were there and came shouting at us and weren’t happy about our involvement at all. This isn’t straight forward! We started to dream about buying some land and building a few houses for those in need of accommodation which is a big dream but we are sure the Lord will guide us about what to do to help this family and others who are in difficult situations. On Sunday morning, the 5 teenage boys, Ruben, Cristian, Alex, Alex and Stefan, all arrived at Claudiu & Ada’s. They usually come for a time of talking about the Bible and Claudiu often gives them a topic to discuss, they are then encouraged to listen to each others opinion. They are lovely teenage boys who are a great encouragement to Claudiu & Ada. We noticed that Cristian was very sweaty when he arrived and then realised there were only 4 bikes. We were told that all the boys except Cristian had a bike so Cristian had run the 4 miles alongside the 4 boys cycling. We chatted with Claudiu about the possibility of buying Cristian a bike and were encouraged that this would be a great idea as Cristian, who was adopted when he was young, his adoptive parents died and now lives with his adoptive grandfather,he has a hard life but is always smiling. We asked Cristian if he would like a bike…silly question, of course he would! We took him into town where he received a lovely new bike, to say Cristian was happy was an understatement, the grin on his face said it all! He’s been messaging Kath to say how thrilled and grateful he is, it means he can now spend time with his friends out in the fresh air and not feel left out. Camp—August 5-12th: We spent a lot of time talking to Claudiu & Ada about the camp. All the children we visited explained how excited they were about going and can’t wait for the time to come. At the moment there are 23 names on the camp list and Claudiu& Ada are eager to take children who have never had a holiday before. The list is to close mid July but they expect 25-30 children will be able to enjoy a week of fun, laughter, singing around the camp fire, good food and teaching. Thank you to everyone who has made this camp possible, it makes wonderful memories for each child. Alex & Biencuta Postolache who now live in Vienna have been in contact begging to go on the camp so that’s great that they can have this time together renewing friendships. Biencuta plays her guitar in Church so she will be an asset on camp providing music for the children to sing to. Both her and Alex seem very happy with their new life. Boxes of love: About a week before we left to go to Romania, we sent 9 boxes (178kgs)of new clothes/shoes/vitamins etc which arrived the day before we got to Barlad so when we got there, we were able to distribute some of these to the families we visited. The rest of the things will be distributed to all the children on camp, there will be lots of very happy children! Emotions and memories: Our time in Barlad went well but as usual, was full of mixed emotions. Being reminded of the extreme poverty and seeing how the small things mean so much was humbling. We were reminded of how fortunate we are and how we take things for granted. All the children showed great excitement when they received a few sweets, a treat that they don’t often get. We observed men walking the streets of Barlad ‘bin dipping for food,’ something we hoped wasn’t happening any more. There are still lots of needs and we thank you all for your continued support, it really does make a difference! We used to get culture shock on our return to the UK but its happening now while we are there. We see huge wealth, watching big flash cars driving around Barlad seemed unreal thinking that around 3 miles away there is such poverty. Driving seems to be getting worse, there a lots of young people driving powerful cars and they don’t seem to have any sense of danger. We were thankful that we were kept safe, we did have a ‘few misses!’ The day after we left Barlad, 4 young people were killed and 8 others injured in Barlad, all because two cars were racing. Money: We were able to buy food for the families, give financial help to everyone and reassure the Rosca family that Tiberiu & Sebastian will continue to have money for bus fares for them to get to school next year. We also left money for Claudiu & Ada to buy school books, pencils, school bags etc for the children to attend school for the next academic year, everyone was so grateful and want us to thank YOU, our supporters, for your love, support and generousity, we couldn’t show this love without you. ‘Time Out:’ We decided during out time in Romania to visit friends of ours who were 3 hours drive north of Barlad. We have known Toni & Emil for almost 30 years and it was wonderful to spend some relaxing time with them in the vineyard area of Cotnari. The 2 night break from the work in Barlad revitalized us for our return to Barlad when we were once again able to spend a little time with Oana ensuring she was ok. Tandem Parachute Jump: This is mad but Kath is just waiting for clearance from her Dr to do a tandem parachute jump to raise funds for GNfR. She is genuinely terrified but wants it to be a real challenge in the hopes of raising lots of money. If anyone is interested in doing this with her to raise funds, do get in touch. Already 2 other people have shown an interest! If you would be interested in sponsoring Kath, please do let her know and if the Dr says it’s ok, Kath will be in touch. We want to thank you all again for everything, you are such an encouragement to US as well as everyone who receives the help. We trust you’re keeping well and wish you every blessing. Love, many thanks & God bless,

David & Kath xx David & Kath (and Mandy)

Ps. Date for your diary: Coffee morning will be on Saturday October 19th, all are welcome!

Read the original – with photos!

Dear Friends

Newsletter March 2019

It’s hard to believe we are well into 2019 already and we know that many of the families we support in and around Barlad will be glad when the warmer weather arrives. The winter has been very mixed but there have been periods of snow and extreme cold. GNfR has been able to help each month, ensuring that the families have had enough food, warm clothing, medicines and money for anything they need. The children had a really lovely Christmas thanks to everyone’s generousity. Each child was given a bag of gifts, sweets and small toys and any child that needed a new coat or boots got them. They also received extra food which made them very happy. A group of the older children were also given the treat of a visit to the pizza restaurant, a rare treat which they all really enjoyed. ROSCA FAMILY: This family continues to struggle, their main home, which has subsidence problems, continues to be an issue and the tumble-down shack where Sebastian and Tiberiu sleep has been badly damaged recently. A neighbour further up the village left a tap running all night by mistake and the water ran down the hill and through the shack, taking the back wall with it! It isn’t straight forward to sort these issues but we are trying to sort it as best we can. The good news is that the Rosca parents have continued to stay sober, this means that we can pass on the monthly money for Tiberiu’s bus fares which hopefully will give some self worth back to the parents. They know we are monitoring their situation and they won’t be trusted with the money again if they abuse it. We trust they will continue to stay sober and therefore ensure a better life for their boys. MICU FAMILY: The winter hasn’t been easy for Lidia (74), her husband and their 10 grandchildren. Lidia has been in hospital a few times with exhaustion and heart problems and she also had a fall which has meant the children were left in the care of Grandad (84) and the older children. Lidia really isn’t in good health and looking after her 10 grandchildren must be taking a toll on her health. Due to a generous financial offer, we have been trying to persuade Lidia to accept some regular help to feed the children/help with their washing etc to ease her burden. Lidia is a proud, humble lady and she felt that she really couldn’t accept more help than she was already receiving each month. It has been explained to her numerous times that GNfR really want to pay someone to help her and at last…. Lidia has agreed that she will accept help 2 days a week. Again this help is being monitored and hopefully Lidia will realise that this is necessary. We obviously don’t want her to think we are taking all the responsibility away from her but she deserves the help. The children have got quite thin over the winter but are doing ok. When Claudiu visited the family recently, they were all sitting in the dark as they had a problem with their electricity supply. Lidia had been in touch with someone and was hoping they would come and fix it very soon and we have heard from Cristina since that it’s all ok now. They are always happy to see Claudiu & Ada and Kath is in touch with Cristina online regularly. PROJECTS: Claudiu & Ada have put together detailed projects of work necessary for The Rosca home (solar panels) & Lidia’s home (major project), if you would like a detailed copy of these which includes costs, please do get in touch. People have been found to do the work. OANA ZANET: Oana has struggled over the winter months, spending time in the dismal apartment doesn’t help her mental state but she contacts Kath online and chats when she’s feeling low. She gets ‘bad thoughts’ and often she just needs reassurance and encouraging words. She’s an intelligent young lady and it would be good if she could get a job, her lack of self confidence and health problems doesn’t help this but we keep praying. Her Mum Maria has kept reasonably well apart from a bout of flu but life is always a struggle. CLAUDIU & ADA: Claudiu & Ada are keeping well and continue to help and support these families. Unfortunately, Claudiu has been told by his company that he needs to be working in Germany for the time being. He finds being away from Ada and everyone very difficult but is just grateful that he has a job. He does get back to Barlad regularly and continues to visit the families, buying food for them and encouraging and helping them. Ada continues to support the children as they continue to call her regularly. We get regular photos of C & A visiting the families and we are kept up to date with any needs. Please pray that Claudiu will get back to Romania asap. With the help of a solicitor, he continues to work on becoming a registered charity so that he can eventually run the charity on a full time basis. RUBEN, CRISTIAN, ALEX, ALEX U, STEFAN, BIANCA AND MARA: These young people continue to go to Claudiu & Ada’s house on Sunday mornings when C & A are home and they love studying the bible with Claudiu explaining it to them. Sadly it hasn’t worked out that the young people go to the apartment for Sunday School, its not anyone’s ‘fault,’ it just hasn’t happened. They are happy to help with shopping for the families we support and also visit the poor families. Their home lives aren’t so easy so GNfR is also able to help them although they consider they are fortunate compared to others they see. A few weeks ago, the boys were chatting to Claudiu and explained that they had found out that Stefan was struggling at home and things were difficult. They explained that they had all taken it upon themselves to help Stefan, even though they have very little themselves, that was so encouraging to know that these boys are totally unselfish and have a heart for those in need, we are sure this comes down to seeing Claudiu & Ada selflessly helping others. Claudiu visited Stefan’s home and found things quite shocking, especially as Stefan had never given any indication that his life was so hard. Stefan and his parents all live and sleep in one room and no one has a job. Stefan tries to, in Claudiu’s words: ‘he tries to produce something for the daily needs of the family’. GNfR is able to help with food & clothing and again, Claudiu keeps an eye on this situation. Barlad MUNTEANU FAMILY: Mirela and her 5 children have been supported by the local orthodox priest which is great news. He has found her a washing machine (it won’t be automatic as she doesn’t have any running water) but it is a big help. Also, he has helped the family to be accepted onto a government project from the EU to give poor families help with food. Not all families receive this help and we aren’t sure how long it will last, but we continue to help them a little and if Claudiu finds that anything has changed with this EU support, we will help where necessary. Ada is in contact with the social worker that is involved with this family and she is not concerned about the family at the moment and has told Ada that there are other families that she knows who needs help, we wait to get information about these families! MILENA: Milena continues with her study which is really good news, she is working really hard and enjoys being at college. She has just got a new boyfriend so we really hope she continues to be sensible and not let anything get in the way of her studies. We continue to support her. STELA & ANDREI: Unfortunately, Stela has found a boyfriend and has moved away, leaving her baby Andrei, in the care of her Aunt and Uncle. This is very worrying but apparently isn’t uncommon. We just hope Andrei is ok, he is certainly well looked after and loved. ANDREI DINCA: Kath chatted with Andrei a few days ago and he said he is doing really well and has just finished 3 large exams and feels they went ok. He said he is ok financially and always asks if we have anything for prayer. He continues to run the University Christian Union and he volunteers on the ambulances. He deserves to do well and will make a good doctor. We’ve been praying with Andrei about his father who was an alcoholic, Andrei shared that for the past couple of months, he has stayed away from drink, very encouraging. ADA & ETIEN BUMBU. We were able to help both these young people with some university expenses recently; they work really hard to be successful in their studies and are extremely grateful for the help from GNfR. DANA, ANDREEA & BEATRICE: Dana is doing ok with the help of her sister Oana Rosca. Oana’s boyfriend Florin continues to work abroad so is able to help the family financially. It isn’t a huge help but it just eases the burden. Unfortunately, late in October, little Beatrice was scolded when a pan of boiling water spilled over her. She was in hospital a few weeks but is doing well now thankfully. Dana thanks everyone who prayed for them all during this time. NORTHERN IRELAND GUYS – GEOFF, CHRIS, PAUL & MARK: During their fleeting visit to Barlad in October, Geoff & team were really moved by what they saw, so much so, they have now committed to helping financially each month and although over recent years they have taken on different charities to support each year, they have decided to commit to supporting GNfR long term. This is fantastic news and such an encouragement for us and the families we support. We’ve had numerous conversations over the past few months and the next big event is that this year, they, and their wives, want to visit Barlad and be with us when we go to Barlad in June! They want to see more than they saw last time and then work out how they can help in the future. It will be a busy time but how encouraging to have such support. We hope to have Gary with us this time as he is also involved with fund raising. CAMP: As you know, each year, Claudiu & Ada run a camp for the families we support. This will happen again in August and the children are super excited about this and can’t wait! We hope to be able to provide a place for around 25-30 children and around 5 helpers and if you feel you can contribute towards a child having a wonderful week in the beautiful mountains of Romania, please fill in the attached slip and send it back to us. Unfortunately, with rapidly rising fuel & food costs, we estimate the cost to be £70 per child for a week of fun, laughter, bible teaching, singing, walks, games, treats of ice cream, good food and support. What a wonderful gift it is for each of these children. CLOTHES FOR CAMP Some of the children come on camp with only the clothes they stand up in so each year, we send new clothes so that each child can receive some new clothes/trainers etc while on camp. If you can help, please do let us know. The closing date will be for this collection will be July 2nd COFFEE MORNING/BRING & BUY: Our next coffee morning is on Saturday May 18th at our home, 1 Wythburn Avenue, and is from 09.45-12noon. Everyone is welcome! If you can bake cakes, make jam etc or have any new gift sets or as new gifts that can be sold, please do let us have them or bring them on the day. Thank you! Once again, we want to thank you very much for your love, support and encouragement, it means so much, not only to us, but most of all, to the families we support. We aren’t sure of our travel dates in June yet but appreciate your continuing thoughts and prayers. We will give you a full update after camp. We wish you all every blessing and hope you have a blessed Easter and a good summer.

Much love & thanks,

David, Kath & Mandy. (Mandy will also come to Barlad with us in June)

Read the original!

Dear Friends,

Visit to Romania 4th – 11th October 2018.

The lead up to our visit to Romania wasn’t the easiest with Kath having had a benign cyst removed from the front of her neck 2 weeks previously, and for some reason, we had some uncertainty about the trip, but despite the huge emotions, to say the trip was amazing is an understatement! We, David, Kath & Mandy Pateman arrived in Barlad early Friday afternoon and went to see Oana & Mum Maria first. Oana had some issues to share with us that had been concerning her but all was soon sorted and our time together was a good time. Their lives are still very difficult but it was good to see Oana had put some weight on and looks really well, as she has suffered from anorexia nervosa. We did manage to see her once more and she gave us a lovely hand made bracelet each in the Romanian colours, something to treasure! She is making more for us to sell at our coffee morning. We arrived at Claudiu & Ada’s to a warm welcome and we all started chatting about the 4 guys from Northern Ireland who were by now on the road to Romania and expected to arrive on Sunday morning. We weren’t long before we were sorting out beautiful hand made jumpers, gifts and sweets and off we went to visit our families. We went shopping first for food for the 3 families we would visit and the first family we visited was the Munteanu family who we had never met before. Mirela and her 5 children had recently moved into a ‘new to them’ home which a local priest had found which was very basic, but much better than the one roomed home they had just left. There was no running water so buckets of water were being carried from the neighbours house, hopefully the water situation will be sorted soon. Everyone was very excited to see us and loved their gifts, especially the sweets, a rare treat from them! We then went off to see the Rosca family, Tiberiu & Sebastian were very excited and again, the sweets were quickly scooped up and off they went into their room to tuck in! Mum & Dad had huge smiles, they looked better than they had done the last visit and this was mainly because they have stopped drinking, praise God! The whole family seemed happier but Dad explained to us that a drunken man had entered his land and beat him up a few weeks ago so there was a police enquiry going on, it’s never easy for them! Dad again dashed off into the house and brought out a photo of Kath & Oana that Kath had sent Oana when she was ill in hospital, he’s obviously very proud of it! We spent time chatting and realised that they weren’t looking forward to the winter months because they have no electricity in their home so when it gets dark, which is very early in winter, they have to go to bed. We discussed with Claudiu what we could do and we have decided to try and buy some solar panels for them which will at least give them lights and maybe we could buy a small TV for them, we can only imagine the excitement and joy this would bring! The cost of this would be around £500-£600, we will do our best and Claudiu would happily fit it. It was good to hear that Tiberiu was still attending school and we have committed to paying the £7 a week bus fare so he doesn’t need to walk the 4 miles to and from school over the winter months. Our next stop was the Micu family. We have never met this family before and the family consists of Grandma, Lidia, 74, Grandad 84 and 10 of their 45 grandchildren! The children are aged 2 – 15 years and to say life is hard, well, its ‘foarte greu’ which means very hard! There was huge excitement from the children and many tears from Lidia. David and I have 10 grandchildren, 6-26 years old but could not even think about looking after all of them even in our good living conditions. There were around 40 jars of pickled fruit and vegetables all ready for them to eat over the winter and Lidia was preparing more while we were there. Her kitchen is extremely basic and she said she felt ashamed showing us. What a wonderful inspirational lady she is! It was hard leaving them but all being well, we would bring the Irish guys for a visit. We also managed to see Milena, Stela’s aunt, uncle and baby Andrei, Madalina, Vlad, Stefania & Rebeca, Ruben, Alex P, Alex U, Stefan, Cristian, Mara & Bianca. We also visited Dana, Andreea & Beatrice and then Oana Rosca and her boyfriend Florin. Dana struggles but she was happy to receive our help. Oana looked really well and very happy, Florin seemed a nice young man and Kath took the opportunity to ask him to take good care of Oana or he would have her to answer to her, everyone laughed but they seemed genuinely happy together, Oana certainly deserves happiness and has recovered fully after having tuberculosis meningitis. Northern Ireland guys: Sunday morning arrived and around 11am, Geoff, Mark, Paul & Chris arrived safely, they were very tired but thrilled to be at the end of their 2,300 mile journey. We were sorry that Gary, the 5th member of the team couldn’t be with us but want to thank him for all his efforts with the fund raising. The guys travelled over in a Volkswagen Sharan because they couldn’t get insurance for a minibus, we felt disappointed, but we were to find out why this didn’t happen, you will read about it later in this newsletter! The Sharan was donated to GNfR but there is an issue in that the Romanian government are in the process of passing a law that right hand drive vehicles will not be able to be registered in Romania so its been decided that the best option is for the Sharan to be broken for spares to raise funds for GNfR. This will help towards running our minibus. They also presented us with a wonderful donation which will help the families hugely. Their time was short as they were catching the 4pm train to Bucharest, flying back to Northern Ireland on the Monday and back to work on the Tuesday – amazing!! So, after a short rest, off we went to visit Lidia and the children. The children we delighted to receive goodies from Barlad the guys and cuddled the toys they were given. Patric, 3 years old loved the Tigger soft toy and wouldn’t put it down, very moving for everyone to see. Again, there were lots of tears from Lidia, she was truly humbled by everyone’s love towards her and said she didn’t feel worthy of the help. All the guys were so moved by their experience in Barlad, that they are hoping to continue to help Lidia which is wonderful! We also managed to spend time with Andrei Dinca in Bucharest. Andrei is studying to be a Dr and needed some financial help last year, he is doing extremely well in his studies and has now found out that he has funding for the rest of this academic year because of his high grades, well done Andrei, a really lovely young man. New contacts: About 6 weeks before going to Barlad, Kath was contacted by Laura from Arizona USA who had found Kath on the internet. Laura had been doing charity work in Barlad for around 20 years and we soon realised that we both knew Oana Zanet. She quickly put us in touch with David Conway who lives in Southend and is involved in the same charity and the connection was a positive one and definitely ‘meant to be.’ We were all surprised to realise that we had all been going to Barlad for so long and yet we had never met. We have only ever been to Romania once in October and that was in 1990 and yet this year, we were going in October, the dates dictated by the Irish group and guess what? David C and the team were there at exactly the same time! We were able to visit the apartment where David, his daughter Alina, Laura & Lauren were busy working to make it into a day centre for disabled children to attend for teaching, physiotherapy etc and were delighted to hear about all the great things they are involved in. We spent time together at Claudiu’s house chatting, exchanging stories and then we found out that it may be possible for Claudiu & Ada to use the apartment for Church/Sunday school for the children…how good is that! We did hire an apartment for a while for Church but it was too costly, Now everyone meets in C & A’s home which is rather a squash, so being able to use this apartment will be such a blessing! We then had what we have called another ‘God coincidence.’ We said our goodbyes to David C and the team, not knowing when we would see each other again. Our time in Barlad came to an end and as we wanted to meet Andrei, we were having a few days in Bucharest before flying home. We knew David & Alina were flying home on the Tuesday so Kath messaged to wish them a good flight home and said we were just going for a walk. David C replied saying that they were just discussing having a walk before the flight so, as the park was close to the airport, we were able to meet again. This again was meant to be as the 2 David’s spent time chatting. David C started asking David about the minibus, why did it not come, why did they need another etc so David explained. David C then said that the charities he was involved with in Barlad had TWO MINIBUSES so he could see no reason why Claudiu couldn’t borrow them for camp….THIS IS WHY THE MINIBUS DIDN’T COME FROM NORTHERN IRELAND! Our ‘God coincidences’ as we call them are what we don’t know. We make plans, they don’t happen and then we realise that God has already planned something much better. Its very difficult to put into few words how good everything was on the visit, yes, there were many challenges, high emotions of seeing such great poverty and depravation but being able to bring such joy to those we met was wonderful. The encouragement that the NI guys gave us was fabulous and will never be forgotten. Thank you all so much for your love, support and encouragement, it means so much to us. We know we have said this before but we really couldn’t do any of this without you, you do make a difference! THANK YOU!

For anyone in the Newport Pagnell area, your contact is Mandy Pateman. [email protected] Tel: 01908218679 Mandy & Sue will be having a stall at the NP light switch on which is November 24th, 10-6. She needs cuddly toys, children’s toys & books and small items. Please do get in touch with her if you can help with any of the above but do go along!

Much love and sincere thanks to you all.

David, Kath & Mandy xxxx

Read the newsletter here – with pictures!

Dear Friends

NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2018.

As I am starting this letter, 28 children and 6 adults are enjoying a wonderful time on camp at Lacul Rosu in the beautiful mountains of Romania. They are in a stunningly beautiful setting as you will see from the photos page. All the children are thoroughly enjoying just being children, having lots of fun, exercise, outings, times of teaching and singing, laughter and good food. Thanks to people like YOU, they can be children. We were able to send 7 large boxes of new clothing, vitamins, toothbrushes etc for the children to be given on camp so everyone will be extremely happy. We were also able to send a new 8 berth inflatable tent, and last year we sent a new inflatable 6 berth tent so hopefully now, the tents are all in good condition for a few years to come. Camp. It’s been very up and down sorting camp numbers this year, there were the usual children that had their names down from last year, and some new children too. Biencuta and Alex who now live in Austria went on camp too so that was great news. They seem to be doing ok. As usual, some children couldn’t go as their parents decided at last minute that they wanted them to stay home to work, we can only imagine their disappointment! Claudiu said this: ‘camp was a real challenge, very hard, it was a test on us on all levels – work, watch, counselling, care, feeding, but everyone had an amazing time and we thank everyone who made this week possible, God bless you all! Claudiu & Ada now have the task of cleaning all the tents, washing all the sleeping bags etc, they are a real blessing. Oana Rosca wasn’t there this year which is the first time since camp began, she is now living with her boyfriend who appears to be looking after her, we do hope so as life has been hard for her. She occasionally contacts Kath online which is good and seems very happy. She shows concern for her brothers Tiberiu & Sebastian, who are on camp this week and visits them regularly. Sadly, her parents continue to drink. One new family, the Micu/Galben/Codreanu/Drutu family (some of the children have different fathers), from Pogana, consists of grandma, around 75 years old and grandpa, around 80 who take care of their 10 grandchildren. The children are from around 3-15 years old and life is very hard. Their mothers are working in Italy and send no money home for the children. The help they received from GNfR brought huge smiles from the children and grateful hugs and relief from the grandparents. They were grateful not only for the help with food etc, but were most grateful for the love and encouragement too. 7 of these children are on camp! Sadly more and more children have at least one parent who is working abroad, mostly in Italy as Romanian & Italian are very similar languages. These children whose parents do send money home have said that they don’t want the toys etc, they want Mummy or Daddy back home, it’s so distressing and we can only wait to see what emotional effect this will have on the children. Mirela Munteanu I mentioned in the last newsletter, a single Mum with 5 children, has continued to receive help too, making a huge difference to their lives. The small gifts, food etc bring more joy than we can imagine. Milena, Marian & Daniel. Milena continues to do well at college and has been working in the south of the country for money to help with her living costs, she’s done so well and we are proud of her. Her nephews still live with Grandma and continue to go to school and are always happy to spend time with Milena when she is home. They are lovely boys and we look forward to see them again soon. Stela Petcu continues to be a good Mum to Andrei, they don’t have much but she is committed to ensuring that he is a happy boy and knows he is loved. Her Aunt & Uncle continue to help and support them. Ruben, Alex, Cristian and a new boy Alex Ungureanu. These boys are such a good support for Claudiu & Ada. When a visit is made to support the families, the boys go along, helping to carry food etc. They are totally committed to helping the poor families in their neighbourhood. They have a great example in Claudiu and Ada! Oana & Maria Zanet continue to live in their tiny apartment which at times, must be quite depressing. Oana is doing well with her teeth braces and although up and down emotionally, on the whole she is doing ok. She chats to Kath regularly online and GNfR was able to send them both some new clothes and gifts to bring a smile to their faces. Oana’s brother Bogdan continues to be devoted to being a monk in a monastery not far out of Barlad. Oana & Maria go there occasionally to stay and we know that the peace and beauty there helps them a lot. Andrei Dinca who is in Bucharest studying to be a doctor is doing well. He has completed another year of his course successfully and continues to do his voluntary work. He’s a lovely Christian young man who is a wonderful example to Barlad many other young people. He also chats to Kath regularly and expresses how he will always be grateful for the help from GNfR. He is so determined to do well and be a good doctor, we can only wish him well. The Church at Dealu Mare Unfortunately, the decision to rent a building for everyone to meet for Church services wasn’t the right one. We were sending money for this every month and soon realised that we weren’t able to meet all the needs of the poor families we support. After much discussion with Claudiu, we felt it was right to let the building go so everyone is back to meeting in either Claudiu & Ada’s home or Madalina’s home. Everything is going ok at the minute and we know if this needs to change, then the Lord will tell us what to do. The children all love meeting together and we thank God that Claudiu, Ada & Madalina & Vlad are willing to keep encouraging these young people and help them to grow in their faith. Nicoleta Postolache who GNfR has supported through university got married in June, what wonderful news! She has one more year to do on her course but we are sure she will be successful. We wish her and Vlad every happiness. Her brother Daniel continues to do well on his epilepsy treatment and is now living a normal life, thank God. David Luca son of Roxana Munteanu was born with a heart problem but sadly he passed away at the end of July aged around 5 months. Roxana told Claudiu & Ada that she remembered being taught in Sunday School of God’s love and that He’s with her in every situation and that those memories were bringing her comfort. What an encouragement for Claudiu & Ada that their teaching has made such an impact on Roxana. She thanks everyone for their prayers. Northern Ireland support. In June, David and I set off with our caravan (& car of course) to visit Northern Ireland. The main reason for this trip was to meet the 5 young men who have committed to raising funds to buy a minibus to drive over to Barlad and donate to GNfR. We were able to spend a wonderful time with them, chatting through their plans, encouraging them and finding out how they are raising money. On the Saturday, we saw almost 60 people set off to climb Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in NI to raise funds. It was so encouraging and lots of people wanted to know more about the work of GNfR and all about the families we support. Geoff and team have done lots of fundraising events and the next one is an abseil down a tall building in Belfast…we are very glad we aren’t involved in that! We still don’t have a definite date of when they will arrive in Barlad but all being well, it should be early October. David, Mandy and myself will, God willing, be there to meet them. We will introduce them to some of the families and we will also buy whatever is needed for school, the families etc while we are there, finances permitting. We have to make a decision about what to do with the minibus that is already in Barlad. It is getting old but still runs ok. For camp, 2 minibuses would be ideal (this time we had to borrow 3 more cars from friends making costs higher for fuel etc) but running 2 minibuses would be costly for insurance etc…please pray with us on that one! Romania corruption. Sadly the corruption in Romania is still not good, the only good thing is that there are many groups now being set up to fight it. There is a lot of political unrest in Bucharest and other big cities across Romania, there was a big demonstration in Bucharest only yesterday, August 10th, where over 60,000 people demonstrated with some being injured in their fight to overcome corruption, we pray that there will be visible improvements soon! Chatting to Claudiu revealed that food, fuel and all prices in Romania are rising rapidly. Claudiu spent lots of time costing out everything for camp and for us, seeing the changes in costs from last year was quite shocking. We did notice last year that prices were definitely rising and it’s hard to understand how everyone copes to be honest. We don’t like to have to increase costs but its seems that next year we may need to increase the price for each child to go on camp, however, we do know that God’s in charge and we know whatever is needed will be provided, as it always is! Claudiu & Ada We always enjoy our time in Barlad because we can spend time chatting with Claudiu & Ada and find out in more detail all that is going on there. There is one thing for sure, we are always touched by their strength, stamina and commitment in helping all the families in need. We ask you to keep praying for them both as they face many struggles in supporting these poor families. We thank you all so much for your love, support & encouragement, it is YOU that makes these good things happen for the families we support.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! God bless.

David, Kath & Mandy.

A date for your diary: Our coffee morning/bring & buy will be held at our home on November 24th , 09.45-12 noon, it will be great to see you!

For anyone living in the Newport Pagnell area, your contact is Mandy Pateman. [email protected] Tel: 01908218679.

Read the original!

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!

Dear Friends,

Visit to Romania 17th-25th August 2017.

Our journey to Romania went well and on August 17th, Mandy Pateman, David and myself arrived in Barlad. Oana Zanet had been in contact with me and asked us to visit her asap on arrival in Barlad, so this was our first stop. Oana messaged to say we must not go to her apartment alone as it was too dangerous (lots of unpleasant gypsies live in the area) so we were happy when she came to meet us down the road. Oana didn’t look too well but Mum Maria looked better than last year although she isn’t a well lady either. Oana has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar, depression and ‘other illnesses.’ She lacks self-confidence and self-worth but finds her regular chats online with me really helpful. We have been able to purchase braces for her very prominent teeth in the hope that this will help her, please keep her in your prayers, life is hard! Maria got upset and asked us if, ‘when she dies, will we keep in touch with Oana and help her as they have little family and no one will acknowledge that Oana has any problems. Oana has started volunteering in a foster home teaching English to six 20- 31 year olds with special needs which is amazing, we are really happy about this! Before we left the UK, Claudiu had explained that he was hopefully going to get time off to go on camp but would not be allowed to have time off when we were there, or for his silver wedding anniversary. His boss told him, “the only way you will have time off is to die or leave the company” so we had a wonderful answer to prayer when he called us to say there were some Holy days when we were there and because his work is on a new huge cathedral in Bucharest, the job would be closed…thank God for these Holy days! CAMP The first topic of conversation when we arrived at Claudiu’s was “how was camp?” The answer was it was fantastic! There were more younger children on camp this year but everything was good and they all had a wonderful time. Again, it was a time for the children to relax, have fun, listen to bible stories, sing and very importantly, have the opportunity to chat about any worries they have etc. Claudiu said Tiberiu & Sebastian just smiled the whole time, their lives are very difficult. There were lots of sad faces when it was time to go home but everyone says a big THANK YOU for making the holiday possible. Bookings are already made for next year! We bought a new 6 berth tent this year thanks to a generous donation and another is needed for next year. ROMICA PANTEA Many of you will remember Romica and the difficult life he has endured growing up. Last year, he went off to Italy close to his Mum and found work on a building site. Unfortunately, his Mum stole his money so he decided to move on again and is now working in Spain. What a resourceful young man he is! He called Ada about 3 weeks before we arrived and text when we were there to pass his love on to us, very touching for us. He really appreciates all the help and encouragement he received from GNfR. We wish him every blessing as life has certainly been tough for him. ROSCA FAMILY This is by far our most worrying family. Claudiu explained to us that Dad (& Mum) has stopped drinking, praise God. Dad has been told by his doctor that he had to stop drinking or he would die. He now has cirrhosis of the liver, lesions on his brain, low vitamin B and other issues as a direct result of drinking. Arriving at their home was quite different, there are still major issues, (the house is sliding down the hill for one thing) but seeing Dad sober and extremely happy to see us was lovely. He dashed into the house and brought out a framed photo of me & Oana which I had sent Oana when she was very ill with Tuberculosis Meningitis, he was so proud to show us that they still had it. The boys were thrilled to see us all and when we mentioned Tabara (camp), their faces lit up. GNfR was able to pay for Dads medication and have committed to ensuring he has the meds so long as he continues to stay away from the drink. We didn’t see Oana as she was at her sister Dana’s house but did visit her the next day. She is now 18 and has decided to stand up to her parents but there are concerns about her as she is currently seeing a much older man. Oana really enjoyed camp but had what we think was impetigo around her mouth, Ada sorted out medication for her and when we saw her, all the infection had cleared. She looked healthy and was really happy to see us, we continue to pray for her protection. Her sister Dana didn’t look so healthy, she has 2 children and her husband works away, her marriage doesn’t appear to be a happy one. PETCU FAMILY We had a good chat with Claudiu & Ada about the Petcu children. The 2 younger Petcu boys still live with their father but sadly couldn’t go on camp this year. Liliana had a baby girl a few months ago and Cristina has a baby due in November, Stela is 16 and is now Mum to 5 month old Andrei. Stela’s father won’t have anything to do with her or Andrei so she lives with her Dads brother and his wife. Because she is a minor, she has to have a guardian so her Aunt and Uncle are busy applying to court for that. Hopefully this will come through and then Stela can receive ‘child benefit’ for Andrei as she has had nothing so far, thus making life very hard. She is a good Mum but sadly Andrei’s father is fighting her to have him live with his family. This seems very odd as he has never made any effort to see Andrei and in fact tries hard to intimidate Stela. It is a worry for Stela but she is strong and stands up to him, we just pray this will all be sorted soon so she can concentrate on being a good Mum to Andrei. We were able to buy nappies for Andrei and leave some money to help. She asked if she and Andrei can possibly go on camp next year, she really missed it this year; the answer of course was “yes!” LUNCA FAMILY Milena has done well at college this year and is currently in Constanta in the south of the country working as a waitress, this will help her with her college course and also gives her some money to help for the coming year at college. It was sad not to see her and she was sorry she missed camp but hopes she can go next year too. We did see her Mum Doina and her 2 younger brothers Daniel (10) & Marian (6). One of the most memorable things was when I gave the boys a bag of sweets from England, Daniels eye immediately filled with tears and both he and Marian ran to hug me with eyes full of tears….something so small brought such joy! We were pleased to hear that Milena’s sister Nicoleta is very happy living close to Bucharest and is expecting a baby boy in September. She is a lovely girl and it gave us great joy to know she is content. Barlad Barlad MUNTEANU FAMILY It was really nice to visit this lovely family again. Dad Mihai is a hard worker, he is a market gardener but because he couldn’t make enough money this year, he has to go away to work in Brussels. He is finding this a testing time and hopes he can cope being away from his wife and 5 children until Christmas. He needs 500 euros a month to live on so ideally wants to earn enough money to last the winter so that he can stay home after Christmas. Oana is a good Mum, her children Timotei, Raysa, Salome, Amina and Elisei are beautiful. Again, a memorable moment was when we gave Amina (4) a Peppa Pig rucksack. She instantly burst into tears and hugged the bag, totally overcome with emotion, she ran off to her bed, hugging the rucksack and wouldn’t leave her bed, apparently she spent the night sleeping with the bag and won’t let it go…once again we witnessed a child totally overjoyed at receiving such a small gift. SUNDAY PICNIC We asked Claudiu if we could take some children on a picnic which caused great excitement. Tiberiu, Sebastian, Mara (12) & Elena Onofrei(8)and their Mum Nicole, Cristian, Alex, Mum & Dad Rosca & Bianca all wanted to come. For Oana’s parents this was a first. They have no friends, they don’t go anywhere and certainly having a BBQ in beautiful forest surroundings was a real treat, they actually smiled which we’ve never seen before!. We all had a great time and took the children on the lake on pedaloes, Sebstian was in awe of the bubbles coming out of the back of the pedaloe, yet again, we were able to witness small pleasures bringing so much happiness, a great time was had by everyone. One of the games we took on the picnic was archery which had been bought for camp, Tiberiu has a real talent and just loved playing with it. We chatted with Claudiu and agreed we would give Tiberiu & Sebastian this as they have very little to play with at home, we left money for another one to be bought for camp next year as all the children loved it too. The boys very happy indeed when they realised they could have this archery set at home but we explained to them that they must take care of it and bring it on camp next year, in the hopes that it doesn’t get sold! Hopefully it will bring them lots of pleasure. POSTOLACHE FAMILY. Daniel is doing much better after getting his medication for epilepsy sorted. A local Christian bakery has given him a job which is great news, we pray he continues to be healthy. Nicoleta has now passed her degree and is going to start her Masters degree in Clincial Bioengineering, she’s a very bright girl and hopefully we will be able to help her to continue her studies to give her a brighter future. Bianca is doing much better, she now rents a room and is earning some money as a beautician. Her children Biencuta & Alex are growing up fast and are lovely children. CRISTIAN & ROBERT GINGHINA Robert now works for a local plant hire company and Cristian is now working in IT. Great news! It was good to see these young men doing so well after a difficult start to their lives. GNfR was able to help to change their lives, thank you! ETIEN BUMBU GNfR continues to support Etien whilst he is at university, he is doing really well and again, is grateful for the support. GNfR MINIBUS We were pleased to see the minibus being used, especially for camp. It is used to take the children out occasionally which always cause excitement! We had a puncture on our first trip out so had to buy a new tyre as it wasn’t able to be repaired. We paid for repairs to get it through the MOT and paid the annual insurance etc, it is now safe for these precious children to travel in. SCHOOL BOOKS/EQUIPMENT We didn’t get chance to go shopping for these but left money for Ada & Bianca to go shopping for these so that the children can continue to attend school. Very important! The visit went very well but we have to admit, we do find it very tough seeing our really poor families continuing to struggle. The help from GNfR makes a huge difference but doesn’t provide for all their needs and of course, doesn’t help emotionally. It’s been good to see improvements in some of the children’s lives but there are still great needs. One of the most difficult things we struggled to accept was that we used to get culture shock on our return to the UK but we are now getting this in Romania! We spent time in Bucharest and visited a shopping mall which was mind blowing. The extreme wealth of some Romanian people was so apparent, we found that very difficult, especially thinking back to those we had left behind. We continue to pray that as Romania develops economically, that they will also develop in a way that brings care to the disadvantaged of their society. Our last day was spent celebrating David’s birthday and CLAUDIU & ADA’S SILVER WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. They asked us to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who sent cards/gifts/greetings, they were extremely touched. We want to say a huge thank you too, we really couldn’t do this work without your love, financial and prayer support, it is hard seeing such massive contrasts in the country. We saw on the news that a Mum threw herself and her 3 children in front of a train, there was a note in her pocket saying she couldn’t live with the poverty any more. Seeing we felt a bit low, Claudiu reminded us that over the past 12 years of working with Claudiu & Ada, over 100 children have been helped, we don’t know how many it is over the past 27 years but felt really encouraged. Thank you so much for YOUR help in helping us to help so many in need. Making one person smile maybe won’t change the whole world, but it does change their world! God bless you all.

Love David & Kath xx & Mandy xxx

Read the original, see the photos, and a handwritten letter from Claudiu

Dear Friends,

It seems to have been a long winter but thankfully, it hasn’t been too harsh for everyone in Romania. There were some difficult times but freezing conditions didn’t get much lower than -25 degrees so everyone coped! Claudiu & Ada, our faithful co-workers have worked tirelessly over the winter months helping the families that GNfR supports. Claudiu had a health scare which fortunately turned out to be a stomach infection and nothing more serious. However, his Dr has warned him that he has serious signs of stress so please pray with us that Claudiu can find a less stressful job. Ultimately, him and Ada would like to start a charity so that they can work with those families in need full time. He has already got a lot of the paperwork done, but unfortunately, he has found out that under government regulations, the charity must have the equivalent of 100 times the minimum salary, currently 1,250 lei per month in the account. This works out at approx £23,800!!! Claudiu is asking God for guidance in this! Ada continues to have the all clear since her cancer 5 ½ years ago which is great news. As well as supporting the families, Ada regularly takes food into the town for the street children, we have witnessed how they all know her and run over to her, calling her name, when they see her, what a blessing she is. Many of you will remember Romica Pantea. Romica had an incredibly hard childhood but he is now living and working in Italy and very happy there. He calls Ada regularly just so she knows how he is. We are so happy that he can put his difficult past behind him and that GNfR was able to help him in so many ways. Oana, Tiberiu & Sebastian Rosca. Life continues to be extremely hard for these children, their parents continue to drink and sadly, the children all have to work the fields and do all the work around the house. Claudiu noticed Sebastian’s hands and how he has the hands of a hard working labourer rather than the hands of a 9 year old child, another sign that he is doing manual work rather than being a child. Their grandmother died suddenly from a stroke in November which has affected the children greatly. It was understandably a difficult time but the family had no money to pay for the funeral so their option was to sell the cow. After much discussion with Claudiu, we felt that to sell the cow was taking away the much needed milk for the children, so GNfR bought the cow to pay for the funeral but the family still has their source of vitamins. As Kath says, “so long as I don’t have to milk the cow that’s fine!” Oana has run away from home a number of times after her father beat her but she always goes back. Her father also recently took all Oana’s clothes and set fire to them as a punishment for not doing as she was told. Fortunately, thanks to wonderful supporters, we were able to send new clothes for her urgently. All 3 children are given a meal each day before they go home after school, this is provided by GNfR, it’s good to know they have at least one good meal a day. Oana’s father cut her foot with a knife recently, so she is currently living with her sister Dana (who had a baby, Beatrice Lorena, the day after her Grandma passed away.) Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious cut but it’s all very worrying. Child Protection doesn’t seem to be any good at all….. sadly! Please continue to pray for protection for these children, Claudiu & Ada struggle greatly with all the issues that go on in that family as they feel quite helpless. We have a few babies due anytime, these young girls with difficult home lives soon find themselves in this situation. Stela Petcu (16) Liliana Petcu (17) are both having babies due in the next month or two (they don’t go for antenatal care so not sure of due date), and Oana’s other sister Adina had a boy a few weeks ago, Petronela Patrascu & Alexandra Lupu unfortunately seem to have, in Claudiu’s words, taken the wrong path. They aren’t going to school or Church and seem to be enjoying the party life, we just pray protection for them both. Barlad Claudiu & Ada have some concerns about Bianca’s children, Alexandru (8) & Biencuta (11). She is leaving them alone in the apartment quite a lot so Ada is spending a lot of time discussing with Bianca about how this isn’t the right way. It’s quite a worry. Biencuta continues to love her painting and acting, she is certainly a very talented girl. Alexandru had a growth on the back of his neck in October which GNfR was able to help financially to have the lump (a benign cyst) removed and pay for transport costs to travel the 80 miles to Iasi for treatment. Ruben Postolache (Bianca’s younger brother) continues to do well and goes to school and Church regularly. His friend Cristian Chiritoi (14) is also doing well and attends regularly. He lives alone with his Dad after his Mum passed away, both him and Ruben keep asking, when is the summer camp, they loved it so much! Daniel Postolache (also Bianca’s brother) who was diagnosed with epilepsy is doing well. He gets tired some days but on the whole he is doing well. Oana Zanet who was diagnosed with bi-polar is doing much better. She still has days when she isn’t too good but again, she is doing better than she was. She chats to Kath every couple of weeks, especially if she is feeling low and that seems to help. Her Mum Maria hasn’t had great health over the winter but is well at the minute. Bogdan who is a monk, is also in contact with Kath and he is a wonderful support for his Mum and sister. GOOD NEWS: The Church at Dealu Mare is a place where the children can go each Sunday. They listen to the message that day, they sing songs, play games and take part in a quiz and each of them will be rewarded with treats and money for their school lunches that week which is provided by GNfR. We couldn’t encourage these children in this way without YOU, so thank you! The theme for this year at Dealu Mare Church is: Reforming of the mind, soul, heart & body. If you pray, please pray Gods blessing on them all this year. Christmas Day at Church was very, very exciting for everyone. We were able to send lots of lovely clothing and gifts for the children, Claudiu said their eyes were SO BIG that he wanted everyone to know how much their love and support means. He said he wished that each one of you could have seen their faces when they opened their bags of gifts – THANK YOU AGAIN! Over the winter months, GNfR has been able to provide money each month for any needs that there are. This is mostly food but also money has been provided to send new warm coats and boots for the children that needed them and also vitamins. The children have extremely difficult lives and although we can’t solve all their problems, we can make their lives a little easier. All the children are looking forward to Summer Camp again this year. We aren’t going on the camp again as Madalina Doroftei is getting married to Vlad on August 19th and we are invited. Madalina went on the first GNfR camp as a teenager in 2006, it’s wonderful to see that she has grown up into a lovely Christian young woman and is now helping in the Church and on the camps! You will find attached to this letter, slips asking for support for the children to go on the camp this summer. If you are able to help in anyway, please do fill in the slip and return to us with any donation you are able to make. Also, our GNfR COFFEE MORNING is here at our home, 1 Wythburn Ave. Bolton, BL16BG, on SATURDAY MAY 20th, 09.45-12 noon, EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Thank you again for your love, support and encouragement; you will never know how much it means!

God bless you all. Love David & Kath xx

Dear Friends,

Getting towards the end of winter, our mind begins to focus on what has happened over the past months in the lives of our children and families around Barlad, Romania. Oana Rosca who we had to take to hospital during camp last July, was diagnosed with tuberculosis meningitis. She had a difficult time with a long spell in hospital, undergoing lots of unpleasant tests but she was eventually sent home in November 2015. She was released from hospital much against the Drs wishes but her parents and ‘child protection’ knew better! She had a rough time recovering but thank God, she is looking much better and is feeling much stronger now. She really wants to go back to school but she is not allowed to until she is fully recovered. She continues with her medication and all being well, she will get stronger each day and will make a full recovery. We are just grateful that camp took place when it did or Oana may not have been here today, her parents’ only care was to put vinegar on her feet! Ada meets with Oana 3 times a week to encourage her, listen to her and help her in any way she can. This is wonderful as Oana’s parents don’t do this. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the ‘boxes of love’ that we sent to Oana during her time in hospital, they were a great encouragement to her. GNfR continues to provide food for her and her family to ensure that she has a good diet, thus helping her to get over this illness. Oana’s brother Tiberius (10) was diagnosed with TB when tested but sadly, his parents won’t allow him to go for treatment. We will try and talk to them when we go to Romania, ensuring them that GNfR will cover any costs incurred for the treatment. We just hope and pray that he won’t end up in the same situation as Oana in the future. Her other brother Sebastian (7) was clear of TB. Both boys have had to do lots of work around the house and fetching water etc because Oana is unable to work. Claudiu explained that the boys look quite run down and tired. This is no life for such young children. Oana’s eldest sister Dana Rosca (19) left home when she was 16 and is pregnant by a man described as her ‘uncle.’ He is 20 years older than her. She doesn’t know exactly when the baby is due as she is having no antenatal care which apparently is not uncommon in the villages. We just pray for safe delivery of this baby and that Dana is brought safely through it too. Romica Pantea who we were very concerned about after lots of abuse from his father and employers, is doing much better now. He ran away from home and then ran away from a violent boss but he now has a job as a shepherd boy and is doing well. His brother Vasilica contacted Claudiu & Ada to say that Romica’s boss is much better and Romica is happy. Romica’s dream is to save money for driving lessons and hopefully have a better life than he has in the past, he so deserves to do well as his life has been quite horrendous up to now. We hope to see him this year when we go to Romania and catch up with all his news. Daniel Postolache, (18) brother of Bianca, started to have fits late in November and was eventually diagnosed as having epilepsy. He has also been diagnosed with serious sinus and liver problems for which he is awaiting an operation and treatment. GNfR was able to provide funds for his tests and treatment and will continue to help in any way we can to improve his health. His fits are now down to around 3 a day which is a massive improvement but he has a long way to go. Petronela Patrascu is a young 14 year old girl who lived with her 89 year old grandfather. Sadlly, granddad passed away in late January so Petronela was left alone. An aunt came to stay but Petronela didn’t like her as she shouted a lot and bullied Petronela. Her mother lives in Italy and was not interested in Petronela at all then Mum and Aunt ended up at war over the whole situation. To cut a long story short, Mum abandoned Petronela and left one very unhappy 14 year old behind as she went back to Italy. Not being happy with Aunts bullying, Petronela ran away and turned up at Bianca Postolaches apartment where she is now staying. She is safe and warm and again, GNfR is providing funds for her food etc. We just pray everything will work out for her to stay there as she is very happy. Barlad Petronela and Oana’s best friend Alexandra Lupu (15) also had reason to run away from the family home in February. Her father is accused of killing a man and he is on the run from the police, so at all hours of day and night, the police would turn up at the house looking for him. Alexandra couldn’t deal with this so ran away. She was missing for a few days but then thankfully, she returned home. Her father is still on the run and it seems now that Alexandra has fallen in love with a young man and wants to go and be with him! These children have such difficult lives, we just pray for her safety. Cristina Petcu (17) is having a baby in around 2 months and her sister Liliana Petcu (15) has left home to be with a married man who has 2 children. Nicoleta Lunca (17) has also left home to be with a man, all of which is of concern to Claudiu and Ada. Claudiu is seeing a pattern and that is that it seems as soon as these young girls are shown affection, they leave home. He also has concerns that they do this to escape abuse in the family home, how sad! Milena Lunca & Stela Petcu contact Ada numerous times a week and visit her at her home. They share their concerns about their home life and also concerns about Stela’s sisters Cristina & Liliana and their friend Nicoleta. It’s so good that they have Ada to talk to and hopefully with her support, they will continue with their studies and not go down the route of the other girls. As you can see, there are still many problems for these children supported by GNfR. There are many other children living in very difficult circumstances that Claudiu & Ada help with support from GNfR. We really couldn’t give the help and support that they so need without you. Claudiu & Ada have been amazing and have had lots of struggles with parents and officials but they’ve continued to love and support these children. Please remember them in your prayers as all the problems they see these children going through, takes a toll on them. Claudiu is extremely busy at work and under a lot of pressure there too Nicoleta Postolache is doing well at university. She’s a hard worker and is grateful that GNfR has been able to help her financially as she would not have been able to study without this help. Claudiu & Ada’s boys, Albert & Alexandru are doing well at university too and are a great support for the work of GNfR too. The Church at Dealu Mare is place where many people go to worship and get support on a Sunday morning. Three of the young boys there have asked to be baptized which is a great encouragement for Claudiu, Ada & Bianca who teach the children each week. Great news! All being well, we go to Romania towards the end of June for a wedding which we are really looking forward to. During our time there we hope to go further north east to the area where we used to work and where Madi came from. We will hopefully visit friends and catch up on news with them. Exact dates for going back to Claudiu & Ada’s aren’t decided yet as the work contract that Claudiu’s working on comes to an end around that time and his time off will be limited and he will be under pressure. We will definitely get to see the children and their families and have time to buy school books & equipment and deal with any needs that arise. It will be really good to see everyone, especially after such a difficult few months for them all. Claudiu has told us that camp will be in August this year so if anyone feels they can contribute towards a child having a wonderful holiday, then please fill in the slip attached to the letter. We are also having a Coffee morning & bring & buy at our home on, Saturday June 11th, 10am-12noon. All welcome! We are going to be sending a box of NEW ONLY clothes for the children for camp, if you would like to contribute, do let us know. The box will leave our home on June 10th. Trust you are all well. Thank you so much for all your love and encouragement to us and to those GNfR supports in Romania. You are all such a blessing.

Love and thanks, Kath and David