Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:16
Lord we praise you for allowing some of our children to receive their ID cards this week! Thank you for an answer to many years of prayer. Please continue to protect the children who do not have IDs, who are stateless. Only you can give us true identity – please do so for them. Amen.
All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
Psalm 22:27-28
Lord we pray for the children in our organization who still have terrible memories of their pasts. Please clear their minds of the images and nightmares that haunt them. Help them to see anew and to be free of the years that burden them. Amen.
By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42:8
God we pray for Mia as she returned to Bucharest just days ago from her trip to the US. Please give her an easy transition back. Give her renewed strength and vision for her work that she could bless the nations through the children of Romania. Amen.
But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Genesis 50:19-20
Lord bless us with forgiving and peacemaking hearts, so that we can care for others as Joseph did. Teach us to love children in need, even as we pray against their parents’ brokenness. Amen.
Romanians have sung “Deșteaptă-te, române” at revolutionary events since the 1848 revolution against the Habsburg empire. It aided them in their fight against the Nazis and served as a symbol of the former way of life during decades of dictatorship.
The song, which translates “Awaken Thee, Romanian,” was outlawed under Communism and became a call to arms for protestors and rebels in 1989. Shortly after the fall of Communism, it became the national anthem.
Read the lyrics with English translation here, and listen to the song below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL3dCT8i3ew&feature=related&rel=0]
Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared.
Numbers 14:17
God we pray for the children in Romania and elsewhere who, because they do not have papers, cannot attend school or access special services. Please give Mia’s Children the resources to educate them. Give them a deep assurance of their identity in you as they wait for the state to acknowledge them. Amen
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
Lord we ask for your rest and rejuvenation as Mia continues her trip to the United States. Please give her a chance to heal from exhaustion, and bless her with new strength from remembering your calling on her life. Amen.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
God we pray today for the many people involved in planning Mia’s visit while here in the States. We pray that you will open all of the right doors to make her speaking engagements and fundraising work go smoothly and be a blessing.
In particular, we ask that you give Joan Castle, the US head of Mia’s Children, encouragement as she hosts Mia and oversees the month-long trip.
Amen.
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
Proverbs 17:17
Mia painting in Memphis
Lord, we thank you for bringing Mia safely to the United States and for the gift of friendship and community that we share with her and with our Romanian brothers and sisters. Teach us how to love and welcome visitors. May her trip be restful and inspire her work and ours. Amen.
This is Flory.
She is 17 years old and suffers from a severe hearing impairment.
Flory is an Olympiad competitor at chess, math and drawing. She took first place this year in Turkey while representing Romania at the Drawing Olympiad. She won the year before in Italy. Next year she’ll compete in Great Britain.
Flory drew the dog in this picture because she loves animals and considers dogs a blessed and faithful friend.
She needs an acoustic machine and a special battery every two weeks for her hearing aid. The kids love her and most of them communicate with her using sign language. She teaches the younger children chess strategies and secrets.
Her family comes from a poor town a long way from Bucharest, but because of the lack of work, many people have moved into the city to find employment there. In Bucharest, her mother helps prepare meals at Mia’s Children. Meanwhile, Flory’s sister entered is studying psychology in college, focusing on children with special needs.
Flory wants to stay at Mia’s Children all the time, but she’s learning in Craiovei at a high school for children with special needs. She studies architecture and would like to attend university to study architecture in the future.