A Tale of Two Cities

We arranged for Motivation Romania to hold a wheelchair distribution and training workshop at our church building in Ploiesti. It turned out to be an ideal venue. First a little "meet and greet". There was an alarming number of amputees at this distribution.

These wonderful caregivers are this boy's foster parents.

This man told Mission President Hill that his grandfather hid a downed Amercan pilot from the Russians for 2 years during WWII.  President Hill said he was pleased we could thank him by providing him with a wheelchair.

Ploiesti Branch President Vasile Pasare extends a hand of kindness to the recipients.

Then he formally welcomes the group to the Church and on behalf of members throughout the world who donate to the humanitarian fund, expressed the hope that the wheelchairs they received would be a blessing to them.

President Hill addresses the group, explaining that as members of the Church we believe that to be followers of Christ we need to love and serve one another.  Humanitarian projects such as these are a way to do that. He described some of the work that Randy and Vicky do as Humanitarian Missionaries in Romania.

Then a short video presentation describing the excellent work that Motivation Romania does.

Demonstration by Motivation Romania trainer (and wheelchair user), Costin, on how to move from a wheelchair to a regular chair.  He encourages everyone by saying, "If I can do it, you can too."

Finally, some ramp practice for the wheelchair recipients and their caregivers.

On to Timisoara, where another team of physical therapists and trainers distribute wheelchairs we have donated.  We talked with people and learned their stories. The lady in pink had her vertebrae crushed when a big metal gate fell on her. In the middle is the coordinator of the Timisoara training team.  The fellow lost the use of his legs in a car accident.

Both of these men were in car accidents.  The man on the left said he had a tire blowout and he lost control of his car and crashed into a tree.  He lost both his legs.

This is a married couple - both with polio.  She was a real pistol! On the right is their caregiver.

This lady explains to one of our missionaries that she fell from a 4th floor open window when hanging drapes for her friend. She broke her back.

This man was a construction worker who fell from a 4th storey scaffolding.

In 1989, this man participated in a protest demonstration in Timisoara where he was shot in the back and paralyzed from the waist down. The revolts in Timisoara were the beginning of the revolution of 1989 that eventually overthrew Ceaucescu. He and his wife were a young couple at the time with an 11-month old baby girl.  The girl is now 22. He was considered a hero by many of the group who were receiving wheelchairs that day.

These two met at Motivation Romania's summer camp. Love is in the air!  Another rewarding day - meeting wonderful people and seeing how a wheelchair might turn the worst of times into the best of times for them.

A Return Visit to the Leper Colony in Tichlesti

Cristina Angelache (30 yrs. old) was born at the leper colony.  Her father used to be an employee and back then they provided housing for their family on site. Cristina grew up knowing all the people in the colony and seeing many of them pass away one at a time.  She came back to work here after university because of her love for the people.  She is the Financial Director of the Hospital and we talked with her about how we could help. 

After seeing the poor excuse for a water system we knew what we had to do.

Mircea (right) is a water engineer from Bucharest. He has drilled many wells all over Romania and is very familiar with the geography and soil conditions.  He agreed to come with us to the site to meet Elder Petersen (left). Elder Petersen is the Church's Humanitarian short-term water specialist from Arizona, who travels around the world (when called upon) to evaluate the viability of water projects.  He happened to be in neighboring Moldova looking at a water project and was happy to make the trip over to see ours.  Humanitarian missionaries there brought him to us.  In the middle is Dr. Vasiliu, who has been the colony doctor and medical administrator for 30 years.

While the men discussed the water project, I visited with some of the residents.  We didn't come empty-handed.  Each person got a large chocolate bar.  We heard that most of them would have preferred beer or cigarettes.   This is Ioana Miscov. She "walks" on her knees because she has no feet. You can see her hands have also been destroyed by leprosy.  In spite of all that, this is her beautiful garden in the background. Of course, the water has to hauled up the hill from the pump below in buckets to water the plants.  There is a central shower and bathrooms down in the central part of the colony.  With a new well and pumping system she could have running water at her home.

This is Hima Dumitru. We climbed a lot of winding, rickety stairs to reach her little house on the hill.  Once again,we passed a bucket of water that had been hauled up and left beside her front door for her use.  She asked me, "Do you read the Bible?"  When I said, "yes", she asked, "Do you remember when Jesus healed the 10 lepers, but only one of them returned to thank Him?" I told her I knew the story well.  She said, "I was brought here when I was 18 because I had leprosy. Just like the others, I did everything they told me to combat the disease.  There used to be 180 people here - now there are 21. I have watched them all suffer and die of leprosy... and me? - I have all my fingers and toes.  I have not lost feeling in any part of my body. And I am 83 years old and do not need glasses.  I know Jesus Christ healed me, and I thank Him everyday."  She crochets doilies and has done all the lovely needlework you see in her home. Whenever anyone comes to visit, they receive one of her doilies. She is wrapping a doilie for me in paper.  Because crochet cotton is difficult to come by, she unravels leper bandages and uses them!  I'll be bringing her crochet cotton on my next visit.  She says she prefers white or the "pretty pearlized" stuff.

When the men were finished their deliberations they had agreed on 2 possible options for a new water system. "All" we have to do is have the engineers prepare reports and estimates and then write up the project. Keep your fingers crossed that this project gets approved.  We all gathered to enjoy a delicious meal provided by the staff at the colony before saying our goodbyes. Left to right: Randy's hands, Elder and Sister Petersen, Mircea, Victoria (the cook), Dr. Vasiliu, Cristina, Sister and Elder Van Wormer (Humanitarian missionaries in Moldova).