ROMANIA

 Dear all,

It`s been quite a while since we got in touch with you, and for everything that has happened during that time we can only say ...God has been so good to us!!! In Romania it is winter - proper winter with 100-130cm of snow and -25 to -30 Celsius degrees. 

 

At this temperature life is different from normal as nothing can function at its potential.  We had to stop the building work about two weeks ago when the frost came but progress has been good since our last newsletter.

One of the rooms in the building in finished and we are so happy that we could remove the books from our house into the new room! We still don`t use it because of the low temperatures, as a new building requires lots of heat to get to the right temperature. 

 

Another reason is that due to a fall I (Daniela) couldn`t use my left arm for a month so I was unable to get the classroom ready.  In the rest of the building, the walls have been plastered inside and outside; the bathrooms with five toilets and shower rooms, the medical room and the missionary`s room are under construction but because of the weather we had to stop the work as there is no heating in the building at the moment.

We are still waiting the last inspection of Fire Regulation.  The Council’s local planning department haven`t given us a resolution, yet!  As the building is not finished we can`t apply for the rest of the documentation regarding various hygiene standards, health and safety requirements, which are all essential for working with children.   We are sorry to sound negative but all of it seems at times like a nightmare as last week the Council’s local planning department gave us approval and their decision in writing, but today they called us, saying that they need to revise their decision!

 Meanwhile, we had a meeting with the deputy head teacher of the school from the village we have been praying for and it seems that they are willing to collaborate with us in supporting the most disadvantaged children. 

 In all of this we are at peace some days and in others we feel down, but despite our feelings we know God is in control and He will guide us every step of the way.  Please, pray that we will be filled every day with the Holy Spirit to be able to understand his guiding!

Yes, we would say it one more time God is in control - praised be His Holy Name!!!!

 As you probably know on 1^st February, more than a week ago, Leo had a work-related accident.  First of all we would like to thank every single one of you for the prayers which have been so precious to us in these days.  Knowing that you were praying helped us to be stronger and we felt like an unseen army of God was fighting in our behalf.  How can we repay this godly love to you?  It is amazing to belong to God`s family and to have the support of brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ!!!

You did capture our hearts and even so far away it`s like we can`t say goodbye to you NLCC Church.  How amazing is the love of God !

We strongly believe that Leo is alive just because God performed a miracle!

Leo keeps saying that the accident was the biggest mistake of his life but I say this was a spontaneous reaction by him.  Because of the frost, a pipe coming off the boiler became frozen.  After heating it with a kind of Bunsen burner, the water still didn`t come out of the pipe so Leo tried to blow in it to see were the blockage was. In that moment the blockage of ice melted and all the pressure of the hot steam and boiling water filled his mouth, going down his throat and trachea.  Instantly his scalded throat became swollen and he started to have difficulty in breathing.  A car took him to the hospital straight away because there was no time to wait for the ambulance.

 After 3-4 minutes Leo couldn`t breathe at all and exactly at that moment an ambulance was coming from the opposite direction.  The driver who was taking Leo to hospital risked a further accident by blocking the road to force the ambulance to stop.  At this moment Leo was suffocating.  The ambulance staff put him on Oxygen straight away and kept him on it for another 15 minutes till the ambulance that had been sent for him finally arrived.  We know this wasn`t coincidence but God Himself provided the first ambulance in time!

 The doctors in Intensive Care tried their best but they were honest in telling us that they had never treated this type of burn and they couldn`t forecast the next hours.  This is a small town hospital with modest equipment where the patients are asked often to buy treatment because the hospital can`t provide it.  After 3-4 hours Leo`s oedema (the swelling in his throat) was getting worse and Leo was thinking to get ready to meet God!  We both were very anxious when the doctors said that they would try their best ... . That was the moment when we knew that only God can help and we called for prayers!  We do treasure the power of the church on Earth and this time God made us see how important is the Church. When the doctors give no hope it`s so amazing to rely on the power of prayer which instantly changes the desperation with the peace exceeding all understanding!  Shortly after asking for help in prayer, we experienced that wonderful peace of God even though Leo had to fight for every single breath the whole night long.  After the oedema had gone down, they could see the trachea.  Leo has a third degree burn of his throat and trachea, the process of healing is not easy but Leo is a fighter and by the grace of God he will get through this soon. At the moment he is still in hospital, but we hope he will be able to come home within the next few days.

Because it is winter things go differently, so please pray that we will be able to plan things wisely and tackle those that can be done. We need your support in prayer and we would love to have you visiting us, here in Vaslui!

May God richly bless every single one of you!

 Love from

 Daniela and Leo