Updates–2015

Link to the 2015 Hospital Gallery here

December 2015 - In the hospital, our youngest baby Alexandra is now 5 weeks old, we got her 2 weeks ago actually blue with cold. She was brought in away from her mother who was begging with her on the street. Six week old Zoltan was also brought in practically frozen and malnourished. A few weeks ago 3 month old Darius' mother brought him in and then ran out of the hospital. He's started to smile.
Iuliana almost 4 months old, who is in and out of the hospital is back again after 3 days at home. She was starving but is happy again, now eating cereal. Paloma is back again with us, she's 7 months now and is learning to sit. We give her bananas, cereal and yogurt to be strong and so she won't be hungry.
Christmas was a fun time with taking little gifts to the children in the state group homes. Alexandra shrieked with delight when she saw the pachet of blank paper. She colours for hours in a row, it's what keeps her calm, that and music. Sorina who stays in bed pretty well all of the time is very happy with a new music toy. It's a struggle for her to press the buttons that give the melodies, but she can do it, so that's extra satisfaction. The other children are busy with colouring books, building, stringing beads, puzzles and games. 
Andrei, one of the teenage boys that David has been taking out for work experience saved enough money to buy a phone. He's extremely happy because he can now call his foster parents with whom he stayed before being moved to the group home.
We had a lovely 4 days at home over Christmas with our 4 children from the orphanage. They took part in the church program Christmas Eve, singing really well. They were so happy to have presents, to play and to be in a family especially at this special time.

October 2015 - This has been a month of changes. It was decided that children of the state group homes 18 years old and older would move out. The more handicapped ones were transferred to a ward of a large institution and the older boys in the house where David works were moved to another state group home of young adults. David will keep in contact with Bobi, Victor and Adi who loved to be taken to youth group on Friday evenings. We can't forget them.
So far, Bobi who previously lived in the state orphanage, and Marius from another institution have come. Marius only says a few words but David is working with him.
Three 15 year old girls have come to replace the children who left in the house where Cornelia works. She is discovering what they like to do, and trying to make them comfortable in their new surroundings.
Little Roxi who has become more sociable from Rodica's love, is one of the children who got moved from that house to the one where Dorina and Zorita work. When Dorina had her in her arms and started singing, Roxi began to smile and then to laugh. We were pretty amazed at how far this child who used to scream when picked up, has come.
We have 3 little babies at the moment in the hospital, Isaac and Florina both 2 months old and Iuliana who is 1 month old. Florina is making all kinds of cute noises, she really wants to talk!
We've all adjusted to the orphanage rule of only 5 days per month to bring our children home. We usually do 1 weekend and 3 Sundays. That way every weekend we see our 6 beautiful children. One of the things I like best is the way the girls quietly sing together when walking or playing. Last week Florina was alone in the living room singing to our birds. She was happy and at peace.

August 2015 - Our staff helped the children in the state group homes through a very hot summer where temperatures were in the mid to upper 30s. They had the children outside every morning and did activities with them inside - puzzles, colouring, plasticine and "working" in number and vocabulary books when it was too hot to be out.
David took the abandoned teenage boys regularly to the local swimming pool which they enjoyed the most. He took them to the park in the evenings when the temperatures were bearable. This summer David and the boys were busy in their garden, doing repairs in their house, and when it was too hot to be outside, played games with them.
In the hospital we have been taking care of 2 young babies, 6 week old Paul and 3 week old Natalia as well as Diana and Paloma. Sadly, Diana who is 8 months old has been taken home twice by the hospital staff and brought back sick each time. She is behind in her development and rarely smiles. Paloma who we've had for most of her 3 months of life was taken home by the hospital (her parents both grew up in an orphanage) but brought back to us sick after only 2 days. It's so disappointing when the parents don't want their babies and let them get sick so that they can be admitted to the hospital again. But Vera and Dora love them more than they'd be loved anywhere else, and help them develop so that they are not so far behind.

June 2015 - Five month old Daniel has become a delightful baby and is learning to sit. One month old Rosalinda has already been home and brought back and left in the hospital. Cristian is 2 months old and it's clear the mother doesn't want him, so maybe he'll get signed off so he can go to a foster family and start a new life. Paloma is 1 month old and came in quite ill. Her parents grew up in an orphanage and it seems no one told them how to properly feed their baby. They are clean and loving so hopefully they'll come back for Paloma who's healthy now. With the doctor's instructions they could manage better with her. We hope she won't be abandoned as they were.
Abel is 19 years old and incapable of movement but he is content watching the children from his bed or the chair. He doesn't chew his clothes anymore and has learned to sing after Cornelia. He had started to move his head to the music from the cd player, so Cornelia wanted to see if he could sing knowing that children who can't do or say anything can sing. Sure enough, when she tried to get him to sing after her, he did! How wonderful that he can conect to someone in this way.
Our women have a special interest in teaching the children and work daily with them making the most of what they can do. Claudia is 10 and can sound out syllables, the next exciting step is to read! Alex is 8, not mentally challenged but has been dreadfully neglected at school. This often happens with abandoned children. Our women are working with him to be able to count to 10, something we didn't know he couldn't do. The children's favourite stationary activity is colouring. Eighteen year old Baron is half blind but Cornelia has discovered he gets a lot of joy out of drawing lines with crayons on paper.
With the school year ending in mid June,  David is giving the teenage boys a good summer with lots of trips to the park and the local swimming pool where he takes 2 or 3 boys at a time. They are incredibly happy playing with a ball in the water! The boys are really enjoying a swing that he mounted from a tree in the backyard. The boys are becoming more helpful in repairs around the house which David initiates and involves them in. They've planted a garden in the backyard and are seeing how hard work pays off. Some of the boys have shown behavioral progress from David's counselling.

April 2015 - Our 3 young babies are Maia 1 month old, Lacrimoara 2 months old and Diana 4 months old. Iosef is 8 months old and Dragos is 10 months old. The boys love their cereal and bananas, and now Diana has started eating cereal. Dragos had part of his intestine removed and has a colostomy. He is abandoned because his mother doesn't want to learn how to change the bag. He's happiest when up in the walker, and he follows Vera around when she's taking care of the babies. We're not sure what will happen to him but our women are giving him all the love and attention they can.
In the state group homes children who are rarely taken out of bed get the chance to experience love and companionship because our women get them up. A very special thing happened recently with 18 year old Mirel who needs constant supervision when he's up because of his aggressive behaviour. The other day when Dorina got him up, he went directly to another child, lay down beside him and stayed that way quietly for an hour. This is a first for him and Dorina will be giving him that chance again.
With spring here, our women are getting the children outside to play again. They are so happy outside and a bench swing we received is a huge source of joy especially for the extremely handicapped children.They have little joy in their lives, our women being the main source, and to see these silent children laugh out loud is just the best. For some children this is the happiest place for them to be.
Seven year old Angela who recently came to one of the houses has had a difficult adjustment. She can only speak a few words and doesn't know how to play, but laughs when she watches the children playing outside with a ball. With a lot of encouragement Naomi has taught her to use the slide in the backyard. She enjoys looking at pictures in books, and Rodica often sits with her doing this. Angela is starting to feel better about life, she comes for hugs now.
David got some of the boys out to the extra services over Easter which they really enjoyed. Once in awhile someone from the church gives them a little money so they can go out for a bite to eat. This makes the boys feel even more special. David has discovered that "music is the best refuge for them" in his words, and makes soul enriching music available for them on the cd player and gives them the oppportunity to sing. He writes out the words of their favourite songs and accompanies them on the guitar. They are very enthusiastic about singing. He has started to take a couple of boys at a time home with him after church for a meal and the afternoon, and they are delighted to be in his family with his wife and baby.
In the last month or so, we've noticed how 5 year old Cristi's anger is receding. He is one of the children we've been bringing home weekends from the orphanage since June. He is much happier and quicker to smile, and gives very long hugs when we take him back Sunday evenings. We're so glad spring is here and the children can be out taking turns on the inline skates and scooters.

February 2015 - You can see how happy the bigger babies are from the pictures in the photo gallery. They don't cry from hunger because of the cereal we give them. Leonardo at 4 months old just left, we hope not to be abandoned again. Victoria who was found in a garbage container last month was placed in a family, and now Vera and Dora are loving 4 sweet babies: 6 month old Marius, 2 month old Lacrimoara, 4 month old Larisa, and Bobi. Bobi who is now 3 months old and who we've had since 1 month old has learned to smile. Though very small he's coming along well being loved. He'll be able to start eating cereal very soon.
Rodica and Estera's love has made such a difference in Sebi's, Sami's and Roxana's lives; 3 tiny very handicapped children who depend on them for everything. The boys are paralyzed and can't speak, but they know they're loved and respond with smiles. Years of loving Roxana have made her want affection and she responds to it with smiles. This child used to react negatively even when anyone got near her.
Four year old Andrea who Estera got to walk this past summer is now feeding herself because our women had the time and desire to teach her.
David has been teaching the boys responsibility, getting them involved in repairs around their house. This is something really new for them. When he takes them out, their behaviour improves and they see that they are treated without prejudice. They love being accepted by the youth group at church. Their integration in society is crucial to their development. The couple of times it snowed brought the boys a lot of joy because David got them out to play snowballs. He repaired an old computer that we were given and installed some games on it which like any boys, they like most of all! Everything he does with them helps them to get along with each other, learning healthy ways to interact.