Dear Family and Friends,
I should have written this update several days earlier given all that has happened here this week. God has been rockin’ and rollin’ in Romania this week!!!
On Monday, thanks to a conversation Esti’s husband overheard, we found out the van that I sent a picture of last week had been wrecked! We told the guy we were not interested and we have continued to search for a van to purchase. We are learning is that we really cannot purchase a decent van for the money that we have so we are considering a car for the time being. We ask you to join us in praying for this need to be met as soon as possible. It is becoming more and more difficult to find people that will take us to Crizantina’s village.
We were able to visit Crizantina on Wednesday thanks to John & Suzie Fenlason (my American pastor here and his wife). When we arrived with our usual barrage of food, we found a discontent Crizantina. Her mother looked exhausted so I had Marinela translate what was going on. According to the mother, Crizantina has hit everyone in the family and sworn vehemently as them. Her father was not there when I arrived because he had left earlier in the morning via train to find me in Oradea. The mother told us that he is exasperated with Crizantina’s behavior and they want medicine. Praise God, I have the medication that Dr. Castor suggested we put her on and I left 14 weeks of it with them. I am praying that this will alleviate some of the behavioral problems.
While in Crizantina’s village, I sent for her cousin, Iliana (Crizantina’s told me her name was Elana and I wrote about her last week). Crizantina’s mother told me that Iliana had come near death the night before because of her heart condition. She has apparently passed out and they could not wake her for an extended period of time. The child looked terrible and I prayed for quick guidance about what to do. She was extremely short of breath from her walk to Crizantina’s house (and it is only three houses away) and she stayed out of breath for a while. I took her pulse and it was outrageously high. I then asked her if she would be willing to come with me to Oradea and be admitted to the hospital and her response was an immediate, “Yes!” So, we stopped at her house and retrieved her identification and left for Oradea.
Iliana told us that she was 18 years old and I made the mistake of not examining her identification to verify this. At the Children’s Hospital, one of the doctors that I have a great relationship with did an ultrasound on her heart but told me because of her age, she needed to go the adult cardio clinic. I called Esti and had her meet us there and then she took Iliana to the clinic and the adult hospital only to find out that Iliana is really 16 NOT 18. Therefore, she had to go back to the Children’s Hospital to be admitted. She is doing very well and is quite content. She looks so cute after taking a bath!! I take her food and other items each day since she has no one else to visit her. (Remember that I wrote her mother died last week and her father is an alcoholic.) We are told that she must have heart surgery in Cluj-Napoca and we are trying to find resources to cover that cost. She asked me if her older brother could accompany her and I assured her that someone in her family would go with her. She is so very timid and afraid…my heart hurts for this precious child.
Pastor Bulzan, myself, Esti, and Pavel met with the mayor of the Borsa on Wednesday. This is the area that we are told will be given to our non-profit so that we may build the House of Grace facility. The mayor was compliant and enthusiastic about the work that we want to do and we submitted an official paper on Friday to him and the Minister of Education to begin the legal proceedings for securing the property in the name of New Life for Children. We need this to be a quick process but we are trusting that God’s timing is much superior to mine! 
We received information from my friend, Glenda Siegrist, (those of you that were receiving my emails last year will remember that she was instrumental in helping get Crizantina’s medical visa) that Operation Smile will be coming to Bucuresti in two weeks to do surgeries for clef lip/palate children. On the 9th floor, we have one clef palate baby, Robert, that is only two months old and desperately needs this surgery. The hitch is that we have to keep Robert healthy until the time of the screening and surgery. He presently has a cold that we need to treat. Because of all that is going on here legally, I will not be able to go. Barbara is willing to go but we must find someone to travel with her to assist with the care of the baby and to translate. Please pray that God work out the details for this precious little soul.
This week, Barbara had the opportunity to visit an elderly woman, Bune, who is caring for a mentally challenged young woman that has aged out of an orphanage. The summer after the orphanage released her, the young woman was raped. Esti told us about this situation several weeks ago. Bune has a heart of gold and is receiving no financial support for the care she is providing. Barbara was given money by friends in the US to provide some support to someone that has fallen through the system and not receiving any type of support. Since this situation certainly meets the criteria, Barbara was able to provide them with some financial support. Bune was overwhelmed with gratitude and told Barbara that she knew that God would answer her prayers in her state of destitution. He did.
I am currently experiencing some trauma from this morning. Unknown to me, the frozen chicken that I thawed this morning had the head still attached. Even for this farm-raised-Southern woman, that was a bit more than I bargained for when I purchased a whole chicken. Barbara, in all her glory, captured the moment on film!
If any of you live in or know people who live western New York near Buffalo, please let me know. Some missionaries here are having a shipment of goods leave in a couple of weeks and there are needs that we need to have purchased and shipped if possible. Barbara’s father has agreed to help but I am hoping there are other people that can assist with him with this.
I think I should end this update here although I have volumes more that I could write! Thank you for being patient with me.
Basking in the Son,
Michelle
P.S. - Greetings to all the new people that have been added to my update list at Barbara’s request!!
Posted on October 24th, 1999 by Michelle
Filed under: Michelle's Journal