Scott Tillotson, August 22, 2013.  Chase, Debbie and I have completed our formal sharing about Chase's disease, our experience as a family, physical therapy and nutrition.

We have been experiencing the mountains with other parents and children at the conference.

I'm not sure how popular the fist bump was in Romania, but Chase has been winning people over. Many of the children (and adults) have switched from a handshakes to fist bumps.

Several families have asked to have pictures taken with us. I have mixed feelings about that. We aren't rock stars yet I'm pleased that what we've been able to communicate, has been well enough received, to merit the honor of being photographed with these wonderful families. The smiles of their children make the sun seem to shine a little brighter.

Even though communication is often difficult, the other parents and children have reached out to us wanting us to know their thoughts and to learn of ours. We have been blessed and God is using our communication in spite of our poor to nonexistent Romanian.
Today we were in the Carpathian Mountains near Bran Castle with Switzerland like scenery.

Scott T

SPONSOR THE WORK IN ROMANIA

SPONSOR A CHILD

This is a repost and a cross post! But it is important!! (MP)

Friend's of Star of Hope, We are doing it again, join us and be a part of this! By Aurora Vatamaniuc

We are approaching the second time to be involved in a very special conference happening in Romania. The following information from Aurora Vatamaniuc, Director, Star of Hope Romania Foundation, will enlighten you of the value of this conference as she shares the results of previous conferences.

"For 4 years (2008-2012) we have organized a yearly conference with a Christian message for the mothers and specialists that work in the field of children with special needs. Most of them belong to the state Orthodox Church. I have witnessed how our Lord talked to them personally and these women demonstrated a significant increase in self-worth, confidence and their value as a person.

"Sam" plays at the center while his mother gets practical and spiritual counseling.

After these conferences the mothers started to meet in small groups at our centers where they are taught to read books that will guide them in increasing their faith. At the moment we have 5 groups with 25 mothers in each group. In one of the meetings the theme was a chapter title from the book "Calm My Worried Heart" – "How To Be Happy Being Myself", written by Linda Dillow. The discussions focused on how the Lord created the human being, the miracle construction of every cell in our body and how the Lord made all the organs to function, to have life. For this, the most relevant scripture was Psalm 139.

Maine and Aurora, give talks to help the mothers of severely handicapped children

Another miracle we talked about is that the Lord has a plan with us and this is why we have been created – to be part of His plans. Mothers talked about the role they have in their child's life (remembering that the child is disabled). It is a role received from the Lord, to raise, educate and love the child. They also spoke of the importance of the body, soul and character. – understanding that The Lord wants us to do our part and to let Him do His.

Our goal is to provide more opportunities for our parents to hear of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. To accomplish this we wish to work in 2 ways:

1. To hold a yearly conference for the families with disabled children. We wish to have a 5 day conference for at least 150 parents and their children. We would like to have young Christian volunteers to help during the conference by caring for and playing with the children while their parents attend various sessions.
2. To set up Bible classes to help the parents learn more about Jesus and living the Christian life and helping them study the Bible in small groups.

Praise during the conference

We intend to involve brothers and sisters from the evangelical churches to lead our groups of training, starting this year in Iasi, Barlad and Dorohoi.

For us to be able to fulfill this dream we need support, prayer and financial means. Today we have this opportunity to do what Jesus w ants us to do. If you want to be part of this mission, we invite you to stand together. Certainly our God will reward any effort for His message to be heard unto the ends of the earth and go gain new hearts for the Kingdom.

We truly want Him to transform our country, Romania!
Pray for us and our country!

Be blessed!
Aurora Vatamaniuc

Above are the desires that God had put on the heart of this dear woman in Romania. This year there will be a new component. THE FATHERS will be included as well. This is an opportunity to bring families closer together and in the process make the gospel come alive as never before in their lives. This is a new element added this year. It is a harsh country. The inclusion of men in the conference is a big deal. The men in Romania are not accustomed to being so directly involved with the hands on care of their disabled child. And we know that in general men are less active in Bible study circles. So, there is a great potential at this conference to make tremendous changes in the spiritual lives of these families.

Last years attendees

I will be attending the conference this year along with a family from Ellinwood Kansas. Not just any family but a family of 3, including a 14 year old disabled son. They are traveling with me to the conference to be an encouragement to men, women and children of Romania. They will have a major part of the conference in sharing their experiences. It will be highlights to have the dad share what it means to be involved in the care and spiritual teaching of a disabled child.

READ ABOUT CHASE AND A FAMILY'S HOPE

Now you know about this year's conference. These are all good plans and dreams but we need help to make them become a reality. Consider what your part will be to make this happen. Changing lives is such a rewarding experience. Even if you never meet the people affected - - -the blessings are felt.

Sincerely

Maria Presson

YES I CAN GIVE RIGHT NOW TO THIS CONFERENCE!

After driving from Iasi for over 3 hours we arrived to the Star of Hope center in Dorohoi. We were meet by children with disabilities and their parents. The love and hospitality they show us is so touching.

I have received so many hugs and kisses, the children and their parents are so loving and sweet and happy to meet us. One of the most special things I will take with me home is the concern and love they all show us. We have been blessed and prayed for and I have learned so many new things. It is easy to come to another country and think we have a lot of answer’s and solutions and then find out I´m the one getting answer’s and solutions while being totally surrounded by love.

In Dorohoi there are 25 children at the center and 44 parents are involved in the parent association. Some of the children have been there for 10 years, today they are too old to attend but there is no were for them to go so one day a week they are still able to come to the center. Marius who is the president of the parent association said this is one of their biggest concerns, what will happen with their children after they turn 18?  

This is a project were the integration with children with and without disability is working. 2 of the rooms in the building are used for our children with a disability; the rest of the building is for children attending kindergarten.  

It has been a blessing for Star of Hope having the Tillotsons here. It is a first time a child with a disability has come with his family from another country to share their life, both joy and difficulties. It has been hard when it comes to the practical things like stairs and the size of doors etc. Romania is not handicapped accessible for someone needing a wheelchair to get around. But everyone has been so helpful. Hearing parents say after they listened to Debbie and Scott “We have no reason to complain after meeting you, you are so strong and patient. Thank you for bringing us hope and to teach us to be more patient” feels great.  When Debbie shared “God makes people different, we are all God’s creation. God does not make mistake” many of the parents had tears in their eyes. Hearing their child is perfect in Gods eyes was an eye opener and you could feel the relief they felt.

We also went to Botosani were I meet Ioana what a delightful and joyful girl. She wanted me to carry her around while she was kissing and hugging me. I have to say I must have the best job in the world.

One boy I meet in Botosani was Andi. He lived with his single father; his mother left both of them and moved to Italy when he was a baby. Cretu his father was amazing the way he beamed with pride when he talked about Andi. Andi had so many medals from “Special Olympics” and awards for dancing Romanian folkdances. Andi have been selected to go to Bucharest, the capital of Romania to preform and be in a national competition.

When you meet fathers like Cretu you know there is hope for Romania. With Scotts testimony and fathers like Cretu  I´m convinced there will be change among fathers.

I’m so lucky to be able to visit and see all these children and their parents. They are like us we all share the love of our children and they also want what is best for their children.

Twenty five, 25 students will soon be graduating from a Star of Hope sewing class in Hesse Haiti. They are young boys and girls, parents and adults that decided to attend the sewing school. The school is supported by Star of Hope Haiti. Now for the first time these courageous students will have a profession and will be able to make their own living after graduation. What a fantastic result.

Some of them plan to go find work that requires their new skill set, others have dreamt to open their own small business working as a professional seamstress to earn an income. For now none of them has a job yet but soon they will graduate and start their new adventure.

If Star of hope had not offered this class, for free, the students would not have had the opportunity to attend sewing class as it simply would have been out of reach economically, to become a seamstress or tailor would be very expensive for a normal Haitian. The tuition is one aspect but then you have the issue of being able to buy material to do the sewing practice in class and as homework.

As Star of hope provides free fabrics to the students they are able make as many samples of dresses after each lesson. Usually Star of Hope purchases the fabric yet sometimes we receive donations of pieces of fabric that we give to the students. The last time star of Hope received donated fabrics for the class was in March this year, it was bags full of different pieces of fabrics that was very welcome and useful. For practice all pieces count no matter how small. Not only are students making dresses for they also practice the economy of the raw materials as to save the precious fabric; any small piece of different color can easily be used to make collars, pockets, leaves, belt and so on.

It is to say that all donated fabric pieces that we received from the family of SallyLou La Pierre have been used and have been greatly appreciated by the 25 students. They are so grateful for the donation that they join star of Hope Haiti staff to greet warmly Karen and the family to thank them for this great donation that means so much to them. The pictures attached prove the students appreciation for the donated fabric.

Blessings
Tony B Star of Hope, Haiti

DONATE TO THE SEWING

We’ve made the trip over the “puddle”, through Rome, and to Iasi (pronounced yash, light on the h), Romania. We spent about 30 hours in route, about 10 hours on airport layovers, arriving on Wednesday evening Romanian time. We were greeted by Aurora and her husband Adi at the Iasi airport and taken to a restaurant named Little Texas with an American and Mexican menu. We got a twilight tour of Iasi on the way to the Star of Hope Center for Rehabilitation where we are staying while in Iasi. We were soon asleep and slept for 11 or 12 hours.

In the morning among other things, we were served “mellon” which was very similar to cantaloupe only the fruit is oblong and the meat of the fruit is much closer to while than the orange we’ve come to expect in America. 

We were provided a tour of the Star of Hope Center for Rehabilitation, where children and families with disabled children receive therapy and assistance. Prior to the fall of communism, 20 years ago, children with disabilities were taken from their families and institutionalized receiving little care.

Star of Hope is an agent of change in Romania encouraging change for those with disabilities. Chase met and connected with Razvan who has Cerebral Palsy. Chase was pleased to see Razvan beat me in a game of ping pong. We met with speech and physical therapists learning more of what they are treating here at the Center. Later, we met and refined plans for the conference schedule.

In the evening we were able to meet a Christian Roma (Gypsy) family who live about one hour outside of Iasi. They have a daughter who is affected by Down’s Syndrome. Their home is still under construction with help from Star of Hope. They sleep 2-3 to a bed. They were most gracious. Friday we take a longer trip out to a rural area and will spend the night in a home.

See also Latest news and photos

One of our board members recently traveled to Indonesia on a Mission Trip with Grace Community Church; although Star of Hope no longer works in Indonesia we thought to share the article as a blog. Some text changes have been made for the protection of individuals home and abroad.

So our guest blogger is D & J Williams.

THE INDONESIA TIMES
Tuesday May 1, 2013

Great Bend, KS. Grace Community Church mission team returned to central Kansas late Tuesday evening, the 23rd of April to cold temperatures and snow on the ground after experiencing hot, tropical weather on the big island of Sumatra, Indonesia for eight days. Culture shock and weather shock were evident on all their faces!

Team members commented on their exhaustion after spending close to 40 hrs in transit from their hotel in Pekanbaru to their homes in Kansas. The transit included flights from Indonesia to Singapore, Singapore to Tokyo, Tokyo to Minneapolis/St. Paul, and from there to Kansas City, culminating in a four hour van ride home to Great Bend.

 Team members.

The in-country time was exhilarating, humbling, and eye-opening! As with many third-world countries, Indonesia is a country of contrasts with abject poverty side by side with wealth and affluence. For the most part, the team saw the poverty and spiritual darkness of the country, the largest Muslim country of the world. Many of the people are Muslim because they were given that distinction at birth and their religion is a mixture of Islam, animism, and superstition. The goal of the short-term mission team was to observe the work being done. Also the team was able to participate in some of the "platforms" or on-going activities, the work is slow and tedious, and requires much patience.

Team member JW stands to the side of one of the Reading Posts which are placed in schools and homes. Local missionary team members, like Maya, visit these posts weekly and read to the students. This develops the relationships from which faith discussions will hopefully follow.

After visiting four Reading Posts and an English school which also had a Reading Post, for the first part of the trip, the team was able to travel to West Sumatra to experience the culture of the Minangkabau people group. The team stayed in Bukittinggni, Indonesia where they visited local tourist attractions and markets. The goal there was to engage locals in conversations during which discussions of faith might be confronted.
The three-fold aim was to learn to "live out loud" as a Christian in a Muslim world, learn how to start spiritual conversations with a Muslim, and learn how to point them to the glorious Christ!

A row of shops outside a tourist attraction.

One day the team spent in the local shops and markets of Bukittinggni, seen above and below, and the next day was spent at lake Maninjau, a nearby crater lake in the mouth of an extinct volcano. Rice production and fish farming are the local means of income here in West Sumatra, while in Pekanbaru the economy revolves around petroleum oil and palm oil production.

A typical market scene. Here a woman is roasting bananas over a charcoal fire.

Team members J & D stop for a breather while on a hike through the jungle to a waterfall. Yu Chung, a local team member from New York, looks on from behind.

Rice production and fish farming are two of the local industries in West Sumatra. Here the rice paddies can be seen in front and the fish farming "pens" in the waters of a crater lake just beyond the trees.

DW teaching a lesson on good eating
habits and nutrition with help from Jonathan on the flannel graph and Maya as the interpreter.

JW reading a book about a little cloud and his imagination showing the children that their imaginations while reading a book can take them anywhere. Maya interprets the English for the children.

This river water was used as the local bathroom, water for dishes, drinking, and laundry and only 20 yards from one of the Reading Posts we visited.

Team members J, M, D and J doing the motions of mimicking a rain shower after Jan had read the book about a cloud.

We thank all of you, our supporters, for both the financial support given to allow us to take this trip and also for the abundant prayer support. We truly felt the presence of your prayers while we were traveling and in Indonesia. For Jan and me, we were kept from sickness and any harm while on hiking trails, traveling on the roads, and sampling the local cuisine. We are convinced this was due to the many prayers being offered on our behalf. Our continued prayer request is for you to pray for the Unreached People Groups (UPGs) of Indonesia and for the national church planters and their families as well as for the missionary families that team with them to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to these people living in a spiritually dark country.

Morning egg delivery. Note the jumble of cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians.