Economy

Painting and Prayer

 in Economy / Painting and Prayer / poverty  tagged generosity / greed / painting / prayer / provision / trust by

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
1 Timothy 6:17

Lord, provider of all things: as we observe the financial woes in Europe and experience our own struggles with unemployment, debt and uncertainty, we ask that you will give us generosity of spirit. Teach us to be people who love others in prosperity and in suffering. Help us to look to things eternal. Please heal any greediness in our hearts or lack of trust we may have in your provision. Make us givers in response to your gifts. Amen.

Prayers – and Prayer Requests

 in Economy / Health / poverty / Prayer  tagged Bucharest / Easter / God / poverty / prayer / Romania by

Some prayers and prayer requests from Mia:

“I continue to be inspired by what God showed me in spite of all the trials we have to go through. In the same time, we look at what happened in the world and we see Japan many other places and we realize again that the world has to come back to God, as the only hope for the future. Let’s pray and work together and look forward, to build bridges between people from different parts of the world, as all need God .

As we are waiting to again celebrate Easter, let’s take inside of our hearts and souls Jesus’ death and resurrection and continue to march with Him in the world. Together with Him we are strong!

Romania is passing through very difficult times, like all the world. What’s worst is that many people lost their hopes: the suicide rate it’s incredibly high, more people are depressed, many are sick with diseases resulting from poverty, malnutrition, a lack of medicine being available, proper food and hygiene products scarce.

For us it became more difficult to keep going with our mission as the dollar continues to be devalued in time when the prices are continually going up. There are days when we don’t know how to manage the situation other than to pray and look forward. In spite of everything, we are optimistic and this is encouraging other people to know and understand “our key “. We witness in this way what we know the best: ‘all things are possible with God!’ ”

Please, pray for:

  • Revival across the world;
  • People who  are going through sorrow over losing family, friends, property;
  • Financial provision to pay the bills, need expenses for keeping the kids, meeting ever-rising living expenses;
  • Health for Mia and all the kids: for Oana, Mario, Gabriela, Nicoleta who are quite ill right now

We thank you for making a way for us in these difficult times. Your help, support, prayers, encouragements mean so much to us. Blessings and much love to all of you.

(Mia)

Flooding Devastates Romania

 in Bucharest / Economy / Prayer / Weather  tagged Bucharest / Budapest / Danube / Evacuation / Flood / Hungary / Romania by

The Danube flooding in Budapest, Hungary

Floodwater has continued to grow in Romania after our last post about severe weather in the country.

Continuous heavy rain has caused rivers to rise, killing 24 people as of Wednesday and forcing over 7,000 people to be evacuated.

So far the area of Bucharest has not suffered the same damage as the northern region of Romania, but the city expects an untimely drop in GDP along with the rest of the country, which would further damage their already weak economy after a year of massive wage cuts in the public sector.

Read more about the flooding here, and please continue to lift up the people of Romania as they try to prevent further flooding and assess the damage already done.

Pray for Romania’s Public Employees

 in Economy / Education / Mia's Children / Prayer / Romania  tagged lei / pension / prison / protest / schools / strike / teachers by


Romanian currency: a banknote for 10 (zece) lei

On Monday, hundreds of thousands of Romanian state employees participated in a massive strike to protest wage and pension cuts.

Over 700,000 medical staff, teachers, emergency responders, and prison workers joined for a one day strike. Many of the workers joined to show solidarity with school and public institution employees, who plan to strike indefinitely.

But despite overwhelming dissatisfaction with the cuts, Romania’s plan to implement a 25% wage cut and 15% pension cut to all state employees still became effective as of yesterday.

Let’s pray for these teachers in particular as they continue to strike. They are the men and women running the schools in which the children we support spend every day. We need them to be examples of love, dignity, and courage for the youth of a broken nation.

And let’s pray for Mia’s Children as they educate and nurture young people in Romania, even when no one else can or will.

“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.)