Snow causing chaos with our schedule

Shoe box operation room in Arad

The temperature as I write is minus 7.  Yesterday (Monday) we were due to visit with Vlad more poor widows in remote villages in the Judet of Timisoara to spend value time and deliver their Christmas presents.  Unfortunately the heavy snowfall prevented us getting out of the city and I felt so dissappointed.  The main roads are passable with great care but very icy. Everyone has been out shovelling snow.   Country roads are out of the question.  Romanian drivers travel much too fast in poor conditions and there are lots of accidents.

So with the change of plan I set out on the tram for Sanicolau Mic stopping on route to buy some sweets etc to add to the box of gifts  I had sent over from Wales for the San Nicolau Mic Centre programme on Saturday.  I walked in deep snow and also ice to get to Peter and Christine's house.  Christine and I were continuing with our sorting of aid ready for distribution at Vinga Church and also general sorting of our Romanian Shoe Box Operations Room at their home.

Later Christine and I visited my good friend N and her large family - it was so....god to catch up on old times.  Because of what I am writing later I am withholding her name.   Please join us in prayer for her - she has kidney problems and has been very poorly.  I love this family. N has 10 children and has had a very tough life  We worked together a lot when I lived here.  With her health problems she is now leading a quiet life at home enjoying her family.  For most of her life she lived in poor conditions with no sanitation but we give thanks that 2 of her children now live and work in Belgium.  Bless them both for financially supporting their mother enabling her to enjoy better facilities.N's late father owned several areas of land in a prime part of the city.  As in many similar cases this land was seized by the communists.   After the revolution people with legal papers have been able to make application to reclaim their land.    However, it is not as straight forward as it sounds.  She has been told that the State have lost some of her papers and the claim for the rest is still ongoing after 8 years.  N says that the hold up now is that the State do not yet have a law in place to be able to release the money.  In the meantime the land is now worth a quarter of its original value.  I was reading on the internet yesterday that billions of pounds of EU money is being withheld from Romania because of continuing corruption and fraud which is why the population is so dissallusioned!!

Card making with children from the Detention Centre

The roads are a nightmare everywhere even in the city but Peter managed with care to get us all to the Detention Centre where we joined Bogdan and his girlfriend.  By the time we arrived having got lost in the side streets) Bogdan has done a short Bible Study.  I brought along a pile of crafts from Wales including some lovely cards donated by our friend, Jan  from our Church.  The children loved making Christmas cards and we have some lovely creations.  It was so good to meet up with one girl  whom I had worked with in a Children's Home in the city during my time of living in Romania.  I have kept contact since on my visits.  Even though she was not well  she was so excited to see me and asked about Wayne saying  she misses us so much.   Please pray for her - she has some health problems which may have had some bearing on why she is where she is.  We are not allowed to take photographs in this facility but staff were happy for me to photograph the cards.  We will return next week to do a Christmas Party and distribute gifts.

Then it was on to the large store Kaufland to get some chocolates for our next visit and to price Incontinence Pads that need to be bought for 2 widows that we visited last week. Prices do vary here and we need to stretch the Charity money.

Our last visit of the night was to an apartment block to visit our friends, T and T. who have twin sons studying in university.  We first met T when he was an inpatient at  Mocrea  hospital.  He had been an alcoholic and because there was no suitable placement for him he was put in a psychiatric hospital and forgotten about.  We befirended him from our visits to the hospital and with the permission of the management Peter offered to take him out for a week to stay at his home.  This was extended to 4 weeks.  However, Peter was due to return to Britain and as T was doing so well Jackie found him a small apartment in the city and continued to support him.  With Jackie's help T was reunited with his wife and sons and within a short time he moved back into the apartment. His wife has 2 jobs to support them.This is an incredible story and we give God all the thanks because T has been healed of his drinking problem and is being cared for so well by his wife.  Only hiccup he fell outside the apartment last February and broke his hip.  A pin was put in it and he is still unable to manage stairs.  They live in a small apartment on the first floor of a large block of flats and so he is unable to get out.  However he is looking so healthy now thanks to his wife's healthy cooking and is very content with his life - Praise be to God!!  T had prepared a beautiful meal for us which we so enjoyed.  They loved the Christmas Box that Christine and I made up for the entire family.  Home late and straight to bed which is why I am blogging early this morning.

We are due in Mocrea Psychiatric Hospital this morning.  However, it an hour's drive and conditions are bad.  Jackie is determined to attempt to get out of her village.  We will review the situation later.  Please pray for us - even getting from A to B in the city is dangerous let alone attempting country roads.