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The “I Am” Study on the Claims of Christ

 in Bible / Education / God / Jesus / Mia's Children / Ministry  tagged Bible study / I Am / International Students / Romanian by

Mia and the children have recently been working through a study called “I Am: a Bible Study Series on the Claims of Jesus Christ,” by Richard J. Mendola.

International Students, Inc., a non-denominational ministry out of Colorado Springs, CO, publishes the study. It is designed for small groups or individuals.

By “claims of Jesus” the study refers to different things Jesus claimed to be during his time on earth: I am the Bread of Life, I am the Good Shepherd, I am the “I Am”, etc. There are seven lessons, and each lesson includes background information, a Biblical passage, observation questions, analysis and discussion questions, and a time for reflection.

The study is appropriate for both believers and non-believing friends. PDF copies from International Students, Inc., cost around $2.40 (2 copies permitted per study, as it is copyrighted).

If you would like to order a study and follow along with Mia’s Children as they look at the character of Christ, just contact us and we will make an order for you and other supporters!

“Shame on Them!”: Romanian Workers Protest

 in Bucharest / Economy / Education / Health / Mia's Children / Romania  tagged AP / debt / EU / IMF / protest / taxes / Traian Basescu / World Bank by

The IMF Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday (a few hours ago, US time), tens of thousands of Romanian workers took to the streets in Bucharest to protest massive wage and job cuts by the Romanian government.

Approximately 40,000 people marched and chanted, “Down with the lying government!” “Shame on them!” and “You have pawned our future!”

The protests follow an announcement that Romania will be cutting all public salaries by 25% and pensions by 15% beginning June 1. Romanians fear debt will only continue to skyrocket while taxes increase. Romania accepted a $24 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Union and World Bank last year in order to pay state wages.

Police officers, teachers, and health workers are calling for the government to resign. The unions are threatening a large-scale strike. Public jobs comprise 1/3 of Romanian employment, and such a strike would leave the country without health care or law enforcement.

Romanian President Traian Basescu

But it is unlikely the protests or even a strike will change the government’s plans. The IMF will only give Romania the next portion of its loan when the country has enforced the wage and pension cuts. Romanian President Traian Basescu has continued openly seeking that installment, worth $1.15 billion.

Please continue to pray for Mia’s Children during this time of economic hardship in Romania. Our children depend on the public sector for school, safety and health resources. But we also try to provide such things privately to them through the mission. And as the dollar continues to grow in strength against the euro, please consider a donation to help cover the increasing costs in Bucharest.

(You can read more about the protests from the Associated Press.)

Art for the Children of the World

 in Art / Family / God / Hope / Jesus / Mia's Children  tagged European Union / flowers / Iraq / Spain / still life by

A few months ago, a Romanian diplomat with the European Union came by Mia’s Children and saw some of our youth’s amazing paintings. He asked if he could exhibit their work in an international show meant to bridge cultures and give hope.

He has since chosen 47 paintings to show in Iraq, with more to be shown in Spain and possibly the U.S. later.

Mia calls the exhibit “a message of love and peace for all the children in the world” and says, “We are honored to represent Romania because it is a way to display how God has put in these children His gifts, with seeds planted, and we all together help them grow and be fruitful.  So it is not only about art; it’s about something beyond – the love of God to and through His children and all His people who answer the commandment to love one another, instead of despising and/or giving no hope for the hopeless.  It shows the agape love of Jesus in action.”

For the last 12 years, Mia has taught every child who walks through her doors how to paint, starting mostly with flowers and other still life pieces. It began as therapy and then led to competitions and even scholarship opportunities around Romania.

But these newer paintings veer away from the typical bouquet taught by Mia in the first years.

Each one is unique. They show a developed confidence and creativity. Children who walked through our doors twelve years ago unsure of who they were are now expressing themselves through art, just as they do in their schoolwork and relationships with others.

For us, these paintings represent more than the great talent it took to create them, or even the hope displayed through the show in Iraq: they are a symbol of how far we’ve come, of how beautifully the family at Mia’s Children has grown up.

We’re on Facebook!

 in Mia's Children / Romania / Website  tagged Facebook / foundation / friends / interactive by

Better late than never! Mia’s Children Foundation has a Facebook page!

So to all our wonderful donors, supporters, friends and family:

Check out the page and click that you “like” us to become a follower.

You can also invite your friends to join: on our Facebook page, click “suggest to friends” under the Mia’s Children icon at the top left of the screen.

We will be updating the page regularly with news and special info. Feel free to write on the wall, upload fan pictures and start discussions on the page. Just make sure to use discretion, especially if you have pictures of the children, as it’s all public.

You can also access it on this website’s sidebar to the right of your screen.

Thank you for being an active part of Mia’s Children. We hope this will be a helpful resource for you and a fun way to interact with the organization!

What is Oina?

 in Bucharest / Mia's Children / Recreation / Romania / Sports  tagged baseball / football / Moldova / oina / P.E. / tee ball by

In our last post, we spoke about Ion (John), one of the boys at Mia’s Children involved in sports. Ion plays, among other things, the game oina.

Oina is like a mix between baseball and monkey in the middle, but it is much older than either sport. Invented in the 1300s, it has become the national sport of Romania because of its ties to the country and its long tradition there. In fact, there are only two oina federations in the world: one in Bucharest and one in Moldova.

Oina is similar to baseball. There are two teams: a team at bat and a team at catch. The weight of the ball for both games is nearly the same, and the bats are similar.

But while a play in both games begins with a pitch and a swing, in Oina the pitcher and batter play on the same team. The pitch is simple and close up, like in tee ball. And once the batter hits the ball, regardless of whether the opposing team catches it, the team at bat runs from one part of the field to another along lanes on the field (called advance and return corridors).

The opposing team waits in the outfield and tries to hit the runners with the ball. The runners can deflect the ball with their hands, but can’t catch it. If it hits their bodies, the opposing team scores and the player leaves the field.

The game only takes 30 minutes and thus is a popular P.E. activity in Romanian schools.

Sound complicated? Well, it is. But try explaining American football!

This video shows a partial game of oina:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKTgScqdcU4&feature=player_embedded#!ref=0]

Soccer, Oina, and Good Grades, Oh My!

 in Family / Orphanage / Recreation / Sports  tagged baseball / Concordia / games / grades / oina / siblings / soccer / tournament by
In Mia’s last letter, she spoke of the sports that some of the kids were playing.

James, 13, is on his school’s best soccer team. It is a competitive team and he travels around the country with his teammates for tournaments. He received a Certificate of Excellence from his school. James also plays “Oina,” an old Romanian game that preceded the American game of baseball. He plays in a league also. All this as well as getting good grades in school.

James for a while lived in an orphanage with his sister, Nina, because his parents could not feed their family. Now he has been at Mia’s several years with his 6 siblings.

Belu, 6, Matei, 7, and Nicu, 8, all play soccer on the Concordia team. They go to the soccer field almost every afternoon to practice and on Saturdays they have their games. Concordia also provides other sports where they can develop their athletic skills.

Belu and Matei have been at Mia’s about 3 years along with their 2 sisters and their mother, who helps Mia with the cleaning and care of the house.

Consider the Motherless for Mother’s Day

 in addiction / Art / Family / Fundraiser / Home / Hope / Mia's Children / Orphans / poverty / Racism / Roma people / Romania  tagged Ceausescu / Mother's Day / orphanage / sacrifice by

This Mother’s day, we at Mia’s Children hope you have a special time celebrating with your love ones the great gift of motherhood.

In America we are so over-worked, over-played, overwhelmed that we sometimes forget the importance of sacrifice, of love and of a hot cup of soup when we’re sick.

Mia’s Children works with young people every day who have not known the love of a mother or a father. When precious children come along, they are too often seen as a burden more than a blessing, and they are pushed out.

We encourage our young people to show their mothers honor on Mother’s Day and every other day. In the past, we’ve even held special ceremonies for them!

But there are some children whose mothers will never attend those ceremonies. And here is what those young people have to say about Mia’s Children:

“I am coming from a family of 9 children. I lived long in an orphanage. Before I came here I never was loved. Thanks to you I can have love and a safe place to live in.”

“You gave me another life. I am what I am because of what the Lord did for me through you.”

“Here…I can experience the true love and I can dream and hope.”

“We feel you are our parents, big friends, forever bounded with us in the love of Jesus.”

This Mother’s Day, we ask that you will consider these children as you also consider your own mothers and children. Please consider making a donation to this ministry in your mother’s honor or memory, and we would be glad to send an e-mail on Mother’s Day with a painting by one of the children, letting her know about the gift in her honor. You can customize the message if you’d like!

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to our donate page and make a donation using the options there.

2. Write us at info@miaschildren.org and let us know about your donation and in whose honor or memory it is.

3. If you want us to send an e-mail, include the e-mail address you would like for us to write to on Mother’s Day. We can send it to you so that you can customize the message, or we can send it to the recipient of the honor.

From all of us at Mia’s Children, have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

– Joanna Miller

A Letter From Mia’s Children – Romania

 in Art / Recreation / Uncategorized  tagged backyard / games / I Am / Ovidiu Hagima / results / sports / Thank You / Xanadu Restaurant by

Dear Friends,

With God’s grace we can again be in touch with you, praising our Lord because He is faithful and so good with all of us.  We are amazed to see that God will do above all one can ask or think, even in the little steps of life and even in little private desires… He is providing abundantly for those who are connected with Him.  We have been experiencing this wonderful Scriptural truth, especially during the last two months.

Even though times here in Romania, as throughout the world, are very difficult and the crisis continues—lack of jobs,  hopelessness, great disappointments—God is giving us the assurance of His presence and the vision to continue the work we do; He is bringing people around us who are willing to help and support us.  Individuals or groups from both Romania and other parts, together with Mia’s Children Foundation, Rotary Club, Adobe Foundation, KBFUS Foundation, ING, Madison Advisors, Transylvania Bank, BCR Bank, are among some of them (please excuse us if we do not mention all of you, but we so appreciate you and are grateful for your support). 

In all our activities we can clearly see the good results in different ways:  we were able to build another needed storage room; we created a garden with a water fountain, eating area; a family of plastic ducks & ducklings; a peacock; a small playhouse & slide—it has given the kids a delightful way to imagine they are part of a happy fairy tale in their own yard, with even a small patch of green grass and flowers.

Many new games and some sport activities are giving the children a special meaning and importance in their daily lives.  The activities the children do in the added back room of the house, which is for studies and projects ( we wrote about it in an earlier newsletter), have been enhanced by the outdoor fun they now have in the new garden area.  Now God is enabling us to develop creative ideas for school curriculum, etc..

Around Eastertime we were given a special dinner by the owners of XANADU Restaurant here in Bucharest.  We thank you so much for the dinner prepared so graciously for us.  During the past two months also other people came to us— like Tedy and Anda, Simona and Georgio, Alex and his group of motorcyclists, Jonathan and Ralucka, etc..  Thank you all so much for your care.

We want to thank Mr. Ovidiu Hagima for the movie he made with Mihaela and Elena, two  young enthusiastic artists,  about Mia’s Children.  They are making a documentary movie about how you can serve needy children and change their lives,  turning them from darkness to light through faith, art, caring showing that humanity has a choice and a hope for the future.  We thank Mr. Hagima for the courage and commitment he had to take with him to Iraq 47 pieces of the children’s artwork, making an exhibit illustrating the truth of the words above.

For us knowing God is so very important, and we are doing a Bible study entitled I AM, the “I AM” words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John.  To know God in an intimate way is the key of success for a changed life, and if we look back where we started with the kids, we see there is success with the kids because we all have an intimate, daily relationship with God.

We want to thank all of you for your financial support for the kids, and for both Costel and Mia.

Prayer requests for:

 *a new home

 *constant support of friends

 *for good health and encouragement

 *a message sent to the world through the fruits of the children’s lives

 We thank you and bless you in the Name of the Lord!

                                Mia’s Children

Himme’s Mia’s Children Cards Available Again

 in Art / Fundraiser / Ministry  tagged birthday / cards / gift / Himme / holidays / Mother's Day / notecards by

We are excited to tell you that notecards made with our children’s artwork are available again through Himme Productions. Just in time for Mother’s Day!

1/3 of the proceeds from the cards goes directly to Mia’s Children. Use the cards for birthdays, holidays, and thank you’s to support Mia’s Children and raise awareness for our ministry!

To learn more, and to place an order, visit our Get Involved page and follow the notecards link, or just go straight to Himme’s Mia’s Children page!

Thank you for your patience as we took the time to get this important feature back up on our new site.

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