Dear Family and Friends,
Wow, I can’t believe we have been back in the USA a month now! We have been very busy trying to both fundraise and plan the New Year’s Eve ball in Charleston but also enjoying getting to visit with friends and family. And, even though Christmas gets a little too commercial in the Western world, Daniel and I have really enjoyed the beauty of all the season.
We recently sent out a newsletter via post. If any of you would like to print out our most recent newsletters to distribute yourself, please write me and I will send you the Word file.
The biggest news I have to share with you concerns one of the children in our foundation. Our precious, “Deborah,” after more than 2 years of praying for a family, has finally been adopted by a family in the country of Spain. We learned that she would be taken from us more than a year ago but because of the political problems in international adoptions, the process was halted until recently. After we found out she would leave last week, Daniel and I called her to say our final good-byes. When I told her, “I love you so much and I am going to miss you badly. I want you to know how much I love you, sweetie” her two-word response melted my heart. She simply said, “I know.” From the moment I began working in Romania, this is what I always wanted our children to know….that they are loved very much. As I write this update and look at the date she left, my heart skipped a beat when I realized it was the day I left on my first short-term trip to Romania exactly eight years earlier. I clearly remember praying a prayer of total brokenness on that initial trip when I saw all the abandoned children, “Lord, if you can use me to end their suffering, please do anything with my life You desire.” I thank Him for giving me the opportunity to use me to have a small part in rescuing abandoned children in His name. What an answer to prayer His plan has been!
Below is a photo of Deborah (the oldest and tallest) with three other of our children who will also be leaving for Spain very soon. Is it just me or are these the most adorable children on the planet???? 
Back in the summer, World Medical Missions, a division of Samaritan’s Purse, donated a cardiac ultrasound machine to our ministry for use at the Oradea Children’s hospital. Thanks to a sponsor family, we were able to purchase a pediatric probe and pay to ship the VERY HEAVY ultrasound machine directly to use in Romania. This was done based on a request by one of the doctors, Dr. Eniko Bereki, who we work closely with at the Children’s hospital who is a wonderful pediatric cardiologist. She has never once asked me for anything other than supplies to help the children. When she requested this, I thought to myself, “She just doesn’t know what she is asking for!” When I found out that she was getting this donation, I told her and she screamed out (in English) “The God is Good!!!” (She is ethnic Hungarian and the word God always has an article attached to the word so the literal translation is “The God” rather than just “God.”) So, the next time the Lord meets your needs or someone else’s, remember to shout, “The God is Good!!!!!!” Eniko has already helped diagnosis many serious conditions that otherwise would have gone undetected. I should note here this is the only pediatric ultrasound machine in our entire city and county. What a blessing! The photo below is Eniko in action with her new machine. (By the way, she also talked us into painting the room, making new curtains, installing a proper sink, and donating some furniture.)
I recently spoke with Gary, the adoptive father of Maria, the child we brought to the USA for neurosurgery more than three years ago. He told me Maria is doing well but she is scheduled for another major surgery in January. We ask you to please join us in praying for this surgery. Maria’s eye sight has gotten much worse in her right eye and they really need the Lord to heal her.
Other prayer requests:
Nicu, our Romanian employee, needs to be encouraged and strengthened as he fights a battle with local authorities over land issues
“Deborah’s” foster mother, Estera, who is really grieving the loss of her first foster child
Jarod Gozy, a friend and US Army soldier in Iraq who is separated from his family until next spring
My dad who is having severe headaches without medical explanation
Safety for Daniel and I as we travel
Daniel and I want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas season as you celebrate the birth of Christ and the purpose for His life. We hope you will stay focused on the joy this news should bring to each person’s heart.
Basking in the Son,
Michelle
Posted on December 17th, 2003 by Michelle
Filed under: Michelle's Journal