Mia's Children Foundation, Inc.

Beloved friends of Mia’s Children,

We have been praising God, for He is so good and every day He has been blessing us in so many ways, many of them unexpected. Even though in Romania we continue struggling with circumstances to survive, we exalt with joy that God is in control of our lives and in everything we have victory.

On your Thanksgivig Day, November 22, we had a special time of praising and thanking God in prayer and song, pinning up autumn leaves each with children’s thanksgiving on a tree I painted on the big living room window & door. Each leaf was a history of the life of each child, pointing to the Lord and His goodness for their new life. The children said many Scriptures, from Psalms and Old & New Testament. After praying, we shared a lovely meal of celebration with, not only the children but some of the parents as well. This special time built in our spirits a strength and joy in our God. Mr. Stephan, Raluca’s father, who has been diagnosed with skin cancer, asked us to keep praying for him as he was so touched and encouraged by the time together and witness we had.

In school all the children are doing great! Because of that some of the teachers are still asking us to receive more students from their classes, usually those not only having difficulties in their families, but those who need additional help and encouragement with their homework. At this time we cannot take any of them; we are open to the possibility, but we cannot add more as we don’t have additional helpers to work with us. Most of the children have big emotional troubles and need special attention, but we cannot focus on them as well as our children. These new ones would need extra attention because of their emotional problems and everyday troubles and are for that reason behind in their learning as well.

We are very excited about the kindergarten program where we work everyday with six of our children, between three and six years old. It is just amazing to everyone, including me, how open they are to receive information, how excited they are to learn new things…in two months they are like blosoming flowers. Among these six children, three are coming from abject poverty without knowing simple personal hygene, but knowing too much about guns, knives, bad words, violence…It is often so hard to replace bad memories with joy, emotional healing, smiles instead of hurts and deep sadness. All these children are sleeping here in the house with us, and still from time to time have bad dreams and nightmares. Sometimes they confess the physical abuse they have had. We pray with them about what’s going on inside of them, and we also pray for their families. Every night we have special family fun time together (fourteen children sleeping each night with us) involving the older children in story telling, dancing, singing, acting so that they are positively affected. Costel sleeps with most of the boys downstairs, while I do so with the girls upstairs; this seems to work out well and in every moment each of them feels secure.

We want to thank you all who are helping us, especially now when the power of the dollar is so low and the price of food, electricity, gas and gasoline, all continue to increase–more than 20% in the past month. Bills for the flats, with increasing inflation, are so high we wonder how we will be able to cover them. Some of the children have been sick(thanks for the help which was given by Drs. Linda and Milt Hanson and to the Open Door Clinic ), and we still have a great need for shoes, medicine, coats.

Recently Carol, a missionary from America, living in Romania for ten years, has come to help us, to encourage us, to bring new breath to us. As you know, few Romanians understand the need to take care of these underprivileged children. She is here now helping me write this newsletter.

I want to thank God for the Rotary Clubs from America and Romania, who are open to improve the life needs for our children. We want to thank them in the same way we thank the Christians and Mia’s Children Foundation, Cambria Church and other churches & groups, who are faithful in their commitment to pray and to support the work we do here.

Mihaela and Marian are still in Cyprus, and they have the best records in their training. They have been asked to go to England right now. They asked us to pray with them to know what God’s plan is for them.

Here are some of our prayer requests:
* For a stable home for the Mia’s Children Association.
* For the stability of the dollar and that we will have the necessary finances to cover the costs: bills, food, medicine, clothing, transportation, etc..
* For health for Mia, Costel, Mario Robert (Mia’s grandson), and all the children as their immunization systems are weak from their past neglect.
* For reliable helpers other than Mia, Costel, Oana, and Costi.
* For everyday guidance and strength to go on as we face so many needs, attacks, uncertainties.
* For joy and fullness of Christmas, especially the real meaning of Jesus’ birth.
* For the founders, Joan, Darrell, Joanna; for all our faithful friends & sponsors to rejoice in the Spirit of Christmas as they bless so many children here in our association.

Love Mia and the Children

It is late Thursday night and I am thinking back over this Thanksgiving Day. I have shared a feast with my husband, daughter, son-in-law and his parents at their home in Rochester, Michigan. We are all healthy. We had great conversations. We watched a great movie “Amazing Grace” and we thanked God for loving us, sustaining us and bringing us to this season of thanksgiving. God owes us nothing. If we have anything at all it is not because we deserve it. It is a gift from God and that humbles me as I think about all that he has provided to me and my family.

Approaching the Christmas season, I know that God has shared wealth with me so that I can share it with others. Mia and Costel are also approaching the Christmas season with 30-45 children who have learned that God provides for them too. Mia’s Children is all about God’s provision and His love. He has taught us that one of the great joys in life comes from giving to others.

As you begin preparing for Christmas, please keep Mia’s Children in mind. A donation to Mia’s Children is a wonderful way to honor friends and family during the holidays. Keep in mind that there are quite a few kids and it is our goal to ensure that each child receives at least one present that is personal to them. With the fall of the dollar, our money doesn’t go quite as far as it use to. To provide a piece of clothing or toy will cost around $30 per child. It is best to let Mia and Costel decide on what they need and to prepare their Christmas plans.

As in the past, the children will be examples to us as they serve their community in song and drama during the holidays. Please reflect on all that God has provided you and if you can, send a special Christmas donation to:

Mia’s Children
c/o Joan Castle
2586 Hocksett Cove
Germantown, TN 38139

I will need to wire our combined monetary gifts to them by the 5th of December.

May God bless you and your family during this season!

Joan Castle
901-624-3884

Our Beloved Family and Friends ,

We all have so many reasons to be thankful for , that we’d need days to write about .But this Special Thanksgiving it’s for us a time to praise , to glorify , to remember , to enjoy , to wish .
The Romanian part of our great family Mia’s Children sends to You thanks , blessings , greetings , hugs and all the love .
Happy and blessed Thanksgiving to You !!!

Mia’s Children

We were blessed with the annual visits of our dear friends from the United States. As always, they filled our hearts with love, joy and encouragement. The children blossom with all the attention and love shown to them. They speak of feeling so loved, special and favored.

We enjoyed “American style” spaghetti cooked by Michael which involved a hands on project with some of the children. It was a time of interaction, learning and joy. He also brought treats and Christian tracts for the children to read (written in Romanian) and for the older ones to hand out to their friends.

Joe and Mary Ann came with clothes for all the children along with a lot of love. Joe hosted a special night to hand out the boys clothes, along with a new University of Arizona Football cap, soccer balls and basketball. The evening was concluded with a lesson on discipline, courage, character, obedience and God’s purpose for our lives along with corresponding Scripture verses. Of course, special treats for the children were served amid laughter and joy by all.

Mary Ann sent out invitations to all the girls for their special day to receive clothing. Before the clothes were given, Mary Ann spoke on what we wear and how we wear it, which speaks of our godly character and who we are. A fashion show follow with all the girls trying on their clothing and adjustments made. This is always a special time for all the
children with joy, laughter and again, special treats ending the day.
There is never a problem with clothing because the children are so thankful and so willing to share with each other!

Each day Joe and Mary Ann were here, they took the little ones outside to help develop their eye to hand coordination through games and exercises, to teach the children how to take turns and be a team player. Time was also given to help Mia develop kindergarden lessons. They also gathered all the children for 2 more sessions on“life lessons” giving their own testimonies and talking about becoming the living word of God. Special attention and love was given to each child along with a lot of encouragement and love to Mia and Costel for the job they are doing.

Each evening as Mia tutors the older children with the homework, Costel gathers the younger ones and encourages their thinking and language skills by their story telling. As school fees are so very high, the little ones are being prepared to enter school with a level of proficiency, conceptual thinking and verbal skills. By incoroporating the alphabet, numbers and colors through art projects, the children learn the English and Romanian language simultaneously.

The visits by our guests are so important to the children because they see God’s word in application. The Bible says in James 2:24, “You see that a person is justified (made acceptable to God) by what he does; not by faith alone.” We feel that this example and application of God’s word is vital to their Christian growth. They must learn, that what they have learned, they MUST also apply to their lives.

We are teaching and expecting the children to raise the bar. The standard of life can already be seen with the older children. Mihaela and Marion are leading the way while in Cyprus studying and working, Claudia with her enrollment in college and with many of the others enrolled in work study programs around the city. This sets a standard and example for the younger children.

We are encouraged by the way God is moving in all our lives. Thank you all again for your love and support.

Love,

Mia and Costel