It’s the end of the school year for our students, and that means graduation! Three cheers for the children’s continued success in school.
Here are some pictures of Raluca at her graduation:
Congratulations to the graduates and to all of the students for another exciting year!
Arguments over the death of Romania’s most infamous dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, will soon be put to rest.
On Sunday the Austrian Times reported that Ceausescu’s son Valentin has won a four-year court battle for the right to exhume his father’s body in order to answer questions about his parents’ fate.
Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena ran Romania with an iron fist from 1965-1989. Following a violent coup in December of 1989, the couple was arrested and tried. They were executed on Christmas Day, and their bodies were dragged through the streets on national television.
Regardless, rumors have persisted that the couple actually escaped and that two other bodies were buried in their place in Bucharest. Valentin Ceausescu hopes to solve this matter by exhuming his father’s body.
The Grave of Nicolae Ceausescu – Ghencea Civil Cemetery, Bucharest
The first time I traveled to Romania, I was shocked by the aftermath of this powerful couple. It was 2005, over 15 years after the fall of communism, and yet people still referred to events as “before Ceausescu” and “after Ceausescu.”
The revolution, which was in many ways similar to a bloody coup, took the life of Mia’s brother and became a catalyst to her and Costel becoming Christians and starting Mia’s Children.
Indeed, many people’s histories are tied to Nicolae Ceausescu and his assumed death. If for some unlikely reason the myths of his and his wife’s survival are found to be true, the country will need some way to regain the closure they should have had in 1989 – a closure that, in many ways, Romanians would still like to experience fully today.
– Joanna Miller
Last Thursday in Bucharest, Mia’s Children Romania was honored with a film premiere, art exhibit and concert. The event raised funds and awareness for the organization.
The documentary film’s Romanian title is “Tu poti face diferenta!” (“You Can Make the Difference!”).
According to Mia, the movie begins with a segment about the crisis of Romanian children: young beggars, homeless gypsy children, and life on the streets.
But then a gate opens and viewers enter the yard at Mia’s Children’s current house. The rest of the film focuses on the work we do and the possibility of change for the children of Romania. Our children speak about their experiences coming from the streets to Mia’s Children, and some politicians and celebrities chime in as well.
Mia saw the film for the first time on Thursday. “During the movie all the people were so silent and you could see many tears in the eyes,” she said. “Many confessed after that the movie touched their hearts very deep. Of course I cried a lot – you know me!”
Mia hopes to send the film our way when it is finished. We would love to see it, and to share it with our supporters and friends. We’ll let you all know as we learn more about the project.
**Wonderful news this week from Mia. We’ll probably provide more details on some of this later. For now, parentheses ( ) have been added for clarification.**
Dear Family,
We had a blessed time where the Lord showed again His glory! We praise his Holy Name, His love and care for all what He is doing every day!
The art exhibit was in Iraq a successful! There were auctioned about 47 art work and we need to receive in our account 8200 of $!
Thursday we’ll have another great moment: The art exhibit and the movie (“You Can Make a Difference”) will be showed first time in Romania and the concert will be performed by some important Romanian artist(s). The event was worked totally – other than the art part and the movie – by Ioana Mantulescu and her husband.
Saturday and Sunday, Gabriela, Mihaela, Rivaldo were involved in a soccer national competition. And our team gained the first place at the age between 7-9 years old! We are part from winner team!!!
We went to the park in the county No. 4 where a group of big hearts women from The Business Women made a special day for orphan children, trying to bring them some joy around Children Day. They gave us a tent for garden, so we can have some shade and some other stuff, fruits, school items…
Seems that people started to be more interest in what’s going on with our work.
Well, I let you (go) for right now. I’m tired and still need to work for something. Miss you a lot.
Blessings,
Mia and all your(s)
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.
Does your church host a missions fair each year?
How about a missions committee?
Or maybe a prayer team?
At Mia’s Children, we are always looking for new ways to tell people about all of the wonderful things God is doing in Romania.
No matter where you’re located, we’d love to give your church more information. We’d be glad to send a representative to speak to churches, committees, or at missions fairs about Mia’s Children and the desperate needs of young people in Romania.
Even if your event is a long time from now, we want to hear about it and plan ahead!
So contact us at info@miaschildren.org or on Facebook, and let’s plan a visit together!
BalkanInsight.com reported yesterday that missing children cases in Romania are on the rise.
Over 3,200 children went missing in the last year, which is ten times more than five years ago. About 90% of the children are suspected to have run away from home and foster care voluntarily, sometimes in order to make money on the street.
But Mia’s Children knows exactly what they’ll find on the street: crime, drugs, prostitution and disease.
Many of our youth came from similar circumstances. Some of them were forced to work in crime for money, and some of them left voluntarily to escape the poverty and domestic problems at home.
We try to work with the children as well as their families, because families broken from addiction and poverty are what causes this danger to Romania’s young people the most.
But sometimes the families do not want help. The parents are not ready to beat the addiction, or are abusive, or feel that they cannot provide anything better than the streets for their children.
In that case one thing will always be certain:
No child is missing from God’s sight, and with his help, they can be found and loved again at Mia’s Children.
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!
We have a new photo album showcasing our children’s paintings for a special art and fashion exhibit in Romania.
Go to our Facebook page, and check out the photo albums on the left sidebar to see more!
And suggest our page to your friends if you haven’t already!
Have a wonderful weekend!
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.)