Journal for Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th of December-Visiting the Widows Mite Project in Timisoara

Monday, 7^th December, 2015

We leave today in the minibus with Adina at the wheel for 3 days in the State of Timisoara visiting the Widows Mite project and delivering Christmas boxes. This project is very dear to my heart and I have had much joy in Wales making up the individual boxes taking into account the needs of each widow. We are staying for 2 nights with our good friend Ema's brother, Peter. Ema and her husband Mihai who live in Wales are Trustees of the Charity.  Peter and Vlad (who runs the project) are accompanying us. Today we are visiting 3 widows in the remote village of Varadia. Maria had no pension for many years but we give thanks that for the past 2 months she has been granted 400 lei (approx £70). Maria is so lonely - she has children but no support which is heartbreaking. Adelina was slowly recovering with her family after a hospital admission for a chest problem and poor Aurelia is bed ridden after a stroke a few years ago. She was being cared for by her devoted daughter in poor conditions. She received a supply of incontinence pads also.

Tuesday, 8^th December, 2015
Today we are visiting widows in the villages of Dolat and Graniceri – again a long drive from our base. We met with 5 widows – all with individual needs. Zenica is the youngest on the programme, has a disability with her one hand and lives in a house with high ceilings in total disrepair. She was widowed 2 years ago and struggles to survive. There were shrieks of excitement as she opened her box and pulled out a pretty hairband and manicure set. I could have cried at seeing her face. Parchita (we call her the sunshine lady) is tiny and has trouble with balance came alive when she saw her fur lined slippers with pretty flowers on them. Every year all the widows wait for their new slippers. Thank you to everyone in Wales who supports our Appeal for them.

After completing the widows visits we made our way back into the city in the dark but our day was not over.

We still had more family visits to make in remote villages. It was dark and Adina negotiated many muddy tracks with huge potholes. Turning was difficult in the dark but you will not find a better driver! At one stage we had to park up and walk a distance in the dark to get to our destination because of the mud. We were visiting poor families with Christmas shoe boxes – the children were overjoyed and one little girl asked “Is everything in the box for me?” We were blessed to see their faces. Last stop of the night was our Trustee and friend, Mihai's mam. She was in tears at opening her special shoe box gift and seeing photos of her son and dear Ema his wife. What a privilege it was to meet her and her 2 sons and a daughter plus their families By the time we hit the road for home it was 10 pm and so we made a quick sandwich before hitting the sack!!

Wednesday, 9^th December, 2015

Early start – today we all set out for the villages of Comlosul Mare and Vizedjia to visit another 10 widows. There were bumpy roads but some improvements with European funds. The greatest gift we can give these dear old ladies is the good news of Christ and many have come to know Jesus through the programme. Most live in dilapidated houses with no water or sanitation. The houses are in disrepair and there is little or no money for maintenance. The widows are lonely and long to see someone just to have a chat. I love nothing more than getting to know about their lives. We always finish with a prayer.

I smile when I visit Catalina because she lines up her Christmas boxes from previous years on top of the cupboard – all are used for storage. Magdalena has no electricity and 2 have no pension so we gave them donations. Maria C lives in the middle of a field and it was not possible to drive there in the mud so her gift was left at the local shop. All the widows will receive food parcels nearer to Christmas.

Our last stop of the day was to Trustee Ema's sister and her family back in the city of Timisoara. What a welcome with lots of exchange of pictures and a shoebox gift for their disabled daughter. We finished the day with a cheap meal in the city to reflect on our 3 days in the state of Timisoara. After saying our goodbyes to Vlad and Peter we headed home to Arad somewhat shattered but giving thanks.