Help with Food
For more than 25 years Star of Hope has worked in Romania. During this time we have been instrumental in encouraging changes to law concerning disabilities and have programmed parents groups to provide support to the whole family.
Through these efforts many have begun to follow Christ as well. As our staff has reached out to the families caring for children with disabilities, significant changes have been seen. Through family camps and visiting speakers, including the Scott Tillotson family from the USA, fathers and mothers have come to realize the value of that child that God entrusted to them. A year and a half ago we started our first intentional Bible class with these parents and as an outreach to the Roma people. Tremendous improvements have been seen and Aura Vatamaniuc, director of Star of Hope in Romania is proud of what is being done. She shares: “We began working with the parents with a very low level of knowledge. They were desperate, frustrated and hopeless. Some families were even on the verge of divorce. I cannot say that the road was easy. As specialists working with parents and children with disabilities, we all realized that if we only provide rehabilitation programs it will not be sufficient. We have tried to teach them that behind all these situations there is a watchful God that has everything under His control. This is how the support groups and the Bible classes got started.
The first Bible class began in Dorohoi. Then we organized thea course in Iasi, then a course at Dimacheni and finally the course at Chisinau, Moldova. During these courses, that totals 14 meetings over a period of six months, the families were offered support for transportation, clothing, food and a warm meal. Together we learned to sing to God and read the Bible. Sessions with open questions were also organized which aimed to clarify any confusion. “Here are some testimonies from the participants of Bible classes and our family conferences: ”These meetings have been a blessing for us. We learned how to seek God.” “These meeting have been very important for me. I learned how to know God from scratch and how to seek Him step by step. He is like a father for me.” “After the last year conference, after all that had happened there, the relationships in our family changed a lot. We, as parents, have become more aware of one another, better, and we pay more
attention to our child. Relationships between us have become more harmonious. But the biggest change has occurred since we started the Bible class”(Robu family - Republic of Moldova) Star of Hope in Romania plans to continue with more meetings in each recovery center. They also plan to continue meeting with those who have attended the first Bible classes, to help them move up to another level and encourage them to commit their lives to Jesus.
For 2015 we have set a goal to start in two new cities. Each course will accommodate 50 parents. This is great news and we trust you are as excited as we about what is happening in Romania. For us to be able to empower them to send 100 new parents to the basic Bible class this year we need to raise $8 000.
