Romeo …

This post is also available in: Romanian

More than 11 years have passed since Romeo, an orphan boy that spent some time in Charis, left Charis to go to an adoptive family and then he return to his first love – the town of Siret in Moldavia, the place where he grew up in an orphanage. A few weeks ago I’ve received a phone call from him. He was letting me know that he was coming to see us. He asked me to help him find a train to Oradea.

I thought he was joking like the other times when he said he would come and he didn’t. But this time he wasn’t joking. I had to tell him what train to take, to call him during his travel and pick him up from the train station. It was a pleasant visit both for us and for Daniel.

His visit ended up being a special one for several reasons. I saw that he was carrying a paper case with him where he kept some documents, among which a picture I gave him 11 years ago on which I wrote: ‘This is your family’. I was really impressed to see that for him, we were still ‘his family’ though we haven’t seen each other for the past 11 years.

He came to see us and to see his sister, Ileana, whom he hasn’t seen for 11 years. We were able to find her phone number and address and one Saturday I took him to meet with her. He stayed with her and her children for two days and then he returned to Charis. One of those days they went to find their biological mother, but they didn’t find her. But something strange happened the next few days.

He found out that he has another brother, Zsolt, whom he has not seen before and another sister, Melinda, of whom he knew, but never met. One of those days we found out that his brother had his baptism at Hope Baptist Church two years ago, this being the church I’m a part of.

One evening I went and brought him to Charis and they have seen each other for the first time in 33 years. Romeo is 36 years old and his brother is 3 years younger than him. A few days later, Ileana, their sister, gave Romeo a picture with their mother.

One day, when Romeo’s brother came back to Charis, Mona (my wife) saw them while looking at the picture of their mother. They were both looking at it and wondering … who looks more like her? This is the reaction of some children that see the face of their mother for the first time… after more than 30 years.

There was nostalgia in their eyes as they looked at their mother’s face and there was no sight of reproach… though they held the image of the woman who abandoned them in an orphanage more than 30 years ago.

It has been a blessed time for Romeo as he saw us again and was reunited with his sisters and brother. Looking carefully at these two men now, each of them made themselves a living despite the fact they didn’t have the love of their parents. I was reminded of the words of the psalmist who says: “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation’” (Psalm 68:5).

Daniel Ciupe
General Manager of Charis Foundation

CHARIS RETREAT CENTRE

One of the most important activities achieved lately was plastering and painting the building of Charis Centre (approx. 600 square meters). We renovated the roof of the staircase going to the attic. We were able to do all of these activities by the help of Charis team and other two men from Nehemiah Church in Tileagd. We continued our work to the toilets for the multifunctional room by installing two of the five doors and prepared the place where the next three rooms will be. Also, we demolished a part of the big greenhouse and with the resulted materials we repaired and renovated the other part of the greenhouse. We also arranged a parking lot for 20-25 cars.

A CHANCE FOR EVERYONE

This has been a period in which we have been visited by four of the orphan boys that have been to Charis in 1997-2007. Pecsi, who returned from working in Czech Republic, spent a few weeks with us, helping us as a volunteer for several activities in Charis Centre. Feri also visited us; he lives in Germany, but he spent a few days in Charis and financially supported our mission. We were really happy to have Romeo back to Charis from Moldavia after 10 years.

AGAPEO

As part of this program, we had GIVE AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE Project for the Easter Celebration. With the help of Mariana (one of our volunteers) and Louann we were able to do 15 gift bags with staple food which we distributed in some Gypsy families from Tileagd.

GOD’S GARDEN

We focused on two major activities: planting and maintaining the vegetables in the greenhouse and harvesting strawberries, cherries and blackcurrant to make jam. We use what we produce for our programmes and projects and a part for Charis Souvenirs.

OPEN DOORS

Together with Hope Baptist Church we organised a DAY CAMP for more than 130 children. They did Bible study, crafts, contests, games and fairs. We ate together and we were happy to celebrate the inauguration of our outdoor chapel. It was a great event.

PRAYER REQUEST

Feri, one of our orphan boys has been working in Germany for the past few years. He has a good job, but he has to face a lot of challenges. Pray that God may give him wisdom, guidance and health.

Romeo – the boy who left Charis and went to Moldavia more than 10 years ago. He is a man with an open heart that needs Christ. Pray that God may touch his life and heart.

Rebeca has been working as a volunteer in our foundation for many years now. Pray for her and her husband, Cipri, that God may give them strength at their workplace and health.

Urgent Needs

We have two urgent needs:

1. Renovating and extending the water system in Charis Centre; we would need 1,300 Euros for this.
2. Building sidewalks around the building and in the yard; we would need 1,200 Euros for this.

If you would like to help meet these needs, you can do so immediately via PayPal or by one of our other payment methods.