A Harvest of Mercy
Join us for a virtual journey to Romania and enjoy the Harvest: A Harvest of Mercy!
Special Guests included: RCE General Manager, Ovidiu Martin as host, greetings from Pastor Rob Yancey, Fairfax Presbyterian Church, and a virtual journey to Romania to visit old friends - music and songs from the Petrean and Albu families – and hear more stories of amazing grace!
Come enjoy and be blessed by this visit-via-video to the ministry of RCE!
To donate and continue the Harvest of Mercy:
The Alex & Teo Sports Hall is open!
Making Smiles Happen.
RCE is starting off the New Year Making Smiles Happen. Marian – who lives at Darius House and attends Sunshine School – looks pretty happy with his happy meal.
Marian, who was abandoned and deprived of early care, struggles with cognitive and behavioral issues. It takes experienced teachers, counselors and caregivers, to support his many needs. Simona, who has been a teacher at Sunshine School since it opened in 2004, is just the right person to understand Marian - and all her students! She makes learning fun for kids who have known more pain than joy.
Christmas Gifts from McLean Presbyterian Church’s Angel Tree brought smiles throughout Arad as well. Deb Perry matches the wishes of children in our Poverty Prevention Program and Placement Families with generous donors from the church who shop for the most beautiful clothes and toys.
All the beautifully wrapped presents go into duffle bags carried over by air (not Santa Air) and delivered to children by RCE staff. Some of the children who receive these gifts have never opened a wrapped present before! The children, and their parents, are delighted.
The Ribb family who took little Dani into their family came to the RCE office for their Angel Tree Christmas presents.
Christmas gifts and special treats are important. Showing God’s love and compassion to needy and hurting children is part of the mercy mission of RCE; along with special education, permanent placement for abandoned children in families, lifting families out of poverty, and providing life in community with the dignity of work for young people with disabilities.
In the coming months three impoverished families (Ivan, Alexi, Croitoriu) will be able to move out of unhealthy, dark and depressing houses into homes where they can raise their families in dignity. It takes many partners to make this happen. Volunteers from churches in the US (Fourth Presbyterian and McLean Presbyterian) help out along with local churches. And most important of all, the family shares in the cost and construction (as they are able) of their new home.
From this…
… To this.
Thanks to all of you for helping RCE Make Mercy (and smiles) Happen and God bless you!
It’s a Miracle…
Advent is a season of miracles. Starting with the miracle so grand it caused angels to sing and shepherds to leave their flocks and go seek Mary and the baby. They returned “praising God for all the things they had heard and seen”.
The Kingdom had come to earth that Christmas night and as the great hymn writer reminds us… ‘It’s not with swords loud clashing nor stir of distant drums but deeds of love and mercy the heavenly kingdom (continues) to come’ when . . .
Orphans are rescued.
Paula (in the gray dress) was once an orphan but now she is a beloved daughter and enjoys singing praises to God who rescued her.
This very week a little boy who had been psychologically tormented and physically abused until he was 7 years old (by his father) moved from Darius House to his own new family where he will know love and life in a community. A great Christmas miracle!
The hungry receive food.
The RCE vans are busy delivering food, firewood, presents, God’s love and Ovi Martin’s special brand of Christmas cheer to needy families in and around Arad.
The sick receive care.
Rafael (new at Sunshine School) finds special education and physical therapy to meet his needs in a warm and friendly place.
Mournful broken hearts rejoice.
And children sing! This class of Sunshine school students (all previously abandoned kids now part of loving families in the Mures River Valley) celebrate Christmas together with their teacher, families, and friends in their own satellite classroom.
Thank you for helping RCE make mercy & miracles happen for those in need at Christmas time and all year long!
Year-end contributions can be given here and are gratefully received.