We wanted to share some afterthoughts and highlights from Christmas in Romania.
Seeing all of the kids at the Isaiah Center was awesome, and oh how they have grown, and so has their hair! They are full of life and energy, and can’t wait to get to the center each day. They love Rachel, Iza and Dave, and not only do they feel safe at the center, as the village can be rough, but they get to have a bath and clean clothes, have lots of yummy food, play time, and devotion time.
It is amazing how much more confident they are because they are loved, accepted and encouraged to be all that they can be. They love daily devotion time, prayer time, and listen to and watch Rachel as she shares, singing as loud as they can and doing all the fun motions to the songs.
They do GET it, and we pray that they will GET IT out in the village, and be light in this very dark place.
The birthday parties for Jesus were a blast! We did individual family parties so we could spend more time with each one. They loved the party hats, especially when we’d put them on the parents! Family portraits were taken. Pin the tail on the donkey was a hit, and each family listened intently as Rachel and Abel shared the story of the birth of Jesus. We sang (okay, they sang in Romanian) Happy Birthday to Jesus and the cupcakes were a special treat! Santa, with an English accent (Dave) did an amazing job and the KIDS and adults loved him! Each child received an outfit and a toy, thanks to many who were part of Christmas in Romania and donated money to purchase the gifts, along with Lafayette Academy Preschool who raised $675.22 in just two weeks (three, four and five year old kids!). What a blessing to be part of this!
Visiting and praying with the families is an opportunity to love and encourage them, and to reinforce that FMN will continue to come and bring others as they further God’s kingdom in this village. We went to each of the homes (huts) of the children from the center. They are all very excited when others come. It is something you can’t imagine if you’ve never experienced something like this. Small 8x10 or so rooms with anywhere from 6-10 and sometimes more people living in this small hut. No water, some with electric, and a wood stove for cooking and heat. We all huddled in, no matter how many, and talked with the families (through Rachel interpreting of course) and prayed with them. It was such a blessing for each family to receive a new stove that will keep their families warm this winter, and will be used for cooking and baking bread. The stoves were gifts purchased with money from contributions given for Christmas in Romania.
On the blog, Georgianne commented, “Thanks again for your work in Romania and for keeping us so informed. Your blog has made it possible to maintain a much healthier and happier perspective during this Christmas season.” The blog is a great way to connect all of the mission team, those here at home who prayed for us, those who made contributions, and others who want to be part of this mission. For Kim, Missy and I, we were abundantly blessed to travel to Romania to spend time loving and encouraging Rachel, Dave and Iza, and delivering the many blessings to the children and families cared for by FMN on behalf of all of you!
While the economy has affected many all over the world, and those here at home have been faced with challenges of losing their jobs, and dealing with every day life, we still are abundantly more blessed than those in third world countries. That doesn’t make it any easier, but we have resources and others who will come alongside to love us, encourage us and help. In Romania, and especially in the Roma culture, this is not the case. They get very little to no assistance, and most cannot find work because of discrimination. We are so thankful for Forget Me Not Ministries and those who partner with them as FMN has become the “resource” for these children and families, to assist in caring for families to avoid abandonment, and to further God’s kingdom by being Jesus with skin on in this village each and every day.
What can you do to help? Invite a representative from FMN to come to your church, small group or organization to share what FMN is doing, and form a team to go to Romania on a short term mission trip. If this is too big of a first step, consider supporting the ministry with a one time monetary donation or a monthly sponsorship of this awesome mission. Through the work of FMN and all involved, lives are being changed with HOPE for a brighter future.
Sponsor a child or a family for $30/month. This provides food, shelter, clothing, medicine, love and encouragement for the kids at the Isaiah Center, and monthly food packages for families.
Provide support for a special project. During our time in Romania, many projects were going on. New doors were being put on, security lights and a new security system were being installed, the center was being completely rewired which was needed as the wiring was hazardous, and new windows are a necessity and need to be replaced to make the center more energy efficient and safe.
An additional washer and dryer would be very helpful and would be a great gift! In Romania the washers and dryers are small and take forever………..and we mean forever to wash and to dry. There’s a lot of laundry to do at the center with all of the kids. The voltage is different in Romania so a set from the U.S. would not work or we’d figure a way of shipping a set over!
Pray for Rachel, Iza and Dave, and the work of Forget Me Not Ministry. Pray for authentic Romanian and Roma Christians to work alongside FMN, and to be role models of a life in Christ. Pray about God’s will for your life, whether it is serving in local missions or serving across the world, sharing your time, talents and resources to change the lives of others.
Before Christmas, in a sermon at church, George talked about “one less gift.” If we received or gave one less gift, we could help someone else in need, whether it is in our family, community or in another country. We have so much, and yet we are heathens and don’t realize it because it’s all we’ve ever known. In the Roma culture, they are in survival mode. They do what they have to survive, and even the kids at the center will put food in their pockets or eat until they’re ready to pop in fear that they won’t have anything to eat once they go home. It is sad, but there are Christians in the village, and in our own communities, that may not realize there are others in need, or are so caught up with their own “needs” that we miss the boat. Unfortunately, most of our “needs” are really our “wants” and there’s definitely a difference. If we all take a look around our homes or look at the way we spend our money, it would be easy to see that we could all receive one less gift or give one less gift so to speak, help those in need, and at the same time, share the love of Christ.
We are thankful for Rachel’s heart and the way she allows God to lead Forget Me Not Ministries. We are thankful Dave and see that God brought him to Romania for ministry, and expanded his territory to further the kingdom as a role model for the men and boys in the village.
A few powerful quotes by author John C. Maxwell that can be applied in any aspect of our lives.
“People don't want to be managed - they want to be lead.”
“You can love people without leading them, but you cannot lead them without loving them.”
“Leadership is casting visions and motivating people.”
“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."
Thank you again to all who were part of this team, bringing Christmas to Romania! It is such a special time to share with the children and families, and we are blessed to be able to be the deliver these gifts on behalf of all who were part of our team.
We are so excited to share that a court date in Romania of January 27th has been set to finalize the adoption! Rachel has had Iza in her care since she was a baby, has went through all legalities in Romania (which is a lot!) and after six long years, a lot of prayer and a lot of faith, the adoption will be final. Zorica Izabella Faith Ross is a true blessing and God has big plans for her as she is a mini me of Rachel, and a little missionary herself. She looks just like the Ross’ and she acts like them too!
We asked Rachel for praises, prayer requests and future project needs and they are listed below.
Praises
Just hired a new Christian, Romanian cleaning lady
Possibly hiring a trusted administrator this month
Prayer requests
Additional sponsors so we can continue to hire staff
Health and protection of the children
God's guidance and direction with the kids and their families this year
Future projects
Re-gutter the Isaiah center - estimated price: $3,000
Finish the attic of the Isaiah center...turning it into rooms for lodging - estimated price: not yet known
For more information contact:
Rachel Ross
rachelross@fmnministries.org
Sue Linn Ross
suelinnross@fmnministries.org
812/989-0663
Lois Wadsworth
loiswadsworth@fmnministries.org
502/291-7718
