A November To Remember

It has been a beautiful fall season here in Romania. For the most part, the morning mist burns off and we enjoy cool autumn temperatures and bright sunshine. 

However we did have two weeks of overcast skies and we were cheered when the sunshine returned .All the flower shops had brilliant fall flower displays to brighten the scene.

Yes, the temperatures have lowered and in preparation for winter, several local businesses have built temporary dog shelters right on their property for the many street dogs you find here in Bucharest.

We met our friend Bogdan on the strada one day and his hands were very cold, so we gave him a pair of the red Olympics mittens we brought from home.  He loved them and we couldn't think of a more deserving recipient!

But what made November so memorable for us were the 3 projects we were able to do:

First, we replaced this broken down oven at Noreen O'Gorman's centre for severely handicapped children. You can see the door is barely hanging on and only one burner worked. You will also notice that her counter top didn't reach to the end of the counter.

Here is the shiny new stove and countertop for Noreen and her staff who take such good care of needy children.

You may recall in a previous blog that we introduced you to Georgetta, who is building her own house, including making homemade bricks.  Noreen rounded up the volunteer manpower to help with construction.

We provided materials and the men installed the roof, windows and doors

so it is sealed up in time for winter.

This is Iuliana.  She looks like she is about 14, but she is actually the mother of 3 and stepmother of 3 more little children. This is a very poor family on Noreen's community nursing route to whom we provided this semi-automatic washing machine. They don't have running water in the house, but they do have electricity.  Now Iuliana can haul the water in from the well outside and the new machine will heat the water and make her daily laundry chore a little easier.

On to Braila where, we met up with a wonderful young director of social services, Nicoleta. She took us on a tour of their homeless shelter.

It looked like every other run down apartment block we've become accustomed to here. Nicoleta told us it is supposed to accommodate 75 people, but there are 88 residents squeezed in here.

We were welcomed by the building supervisor.  He is posing here with our translator, Tena, who is also the legal consultant for Braila's social services.

Some of the men showed us one of their rooms. There are about 4 men to a room.

Then we went upstairs to say hello to the women and to view their rooms.

The second floor is where we saw their laundry room. Only one of these little domestic machines was operational. There were baskets of laundry lining the floor, waiting for their turn with the washer. Nicoleta told us it runs all day every day.

These two nurses work here and help with medical issues. We were pleased to learn there is medical staff and a security guard on site 24 hours a day.

So, with the blessing of our supervisors, we went on a big shopping spree.

We went to a store called Metro Cash and Carry (similar to Costco) and purchased 2 big semi-professional washing machines, an upright freezer, and 5 small fridges.

The helpful staff walked us through all the paperwork, arranged for a transport van, and loaded the appliances.  Our first stop was the homeless shelter.

Happy male residents unloaded their new washing machine

and carefully carried it up to the second floor.

Grateful residents and staff pose with their new washing machine.  We threw in some laundry soap for good measure. You can see a white sticker on the top left corner of the machine.  It reads:

"Donata de Biserica Lui Isus Hristos a Sfintilor din Zilele din Urma." Guess what that means.

We loved the smiles and appreciation we received from everyone.  These folks wanted their picture taken with Randy before we left. Then we had to be on our way. We still had a truckload of appliances and a 2-hour journey to our next stop.

Here  we are on the ferry going across the Danube river.  Our delivery truck driver is beside us. We arrived at the leper colony in Tichilesti at about 1:00 PM.

Some excited residents started unloading the washing machine.  But the fellow in the plaid shirt is convinced it is too big to go through the door.  The other fellow is trying to measure the washing machine with his broom and then compare it to the door opening.  They were about to try to heft that thing through the window! Randy turned to Vicky and said, "Could I have the measuring tape you keep in your tote bag?"  He measured the washing machine.  Then he measured the door.  They had all of 2 centimeters lee way. Phew!

It fit like a glove!  Then off they went to unload the freezer and 5 small fridges at a different building. 

Meanwhile we unpacked the washing machine.  It replaces this:

This beast is so old you can't get parts for it.  They have kept it limping along until now, but we could hear the "death rattle" when it was running.  On top of the new washer is the new sewing machine we brought.  It replaces this:

An old treadle machine that doesn't work worth a darn.  We also surprised them with a new flat screen TV for the common room. 

 Dr. Vasiliu (the colony doctor - and yes, that is a bathrobe he is wearing to keep warm) was so thrilled with everything we brought that he gathered all the residents in the common room.  Then he gave them the list of all the appliances we had brought for them. He asked one of the ladies to speak for the whole group, but before that we had one more surprise.  Because we got such a good deal on all the appliances, we were able to buy a set of sheets and pillow cases for every resident.  We proceeded to give them out and shake hands with all the sweet people at the colony.

They told us that Christmas had come early and they knew God had sent us to them. We feel that way too.  It was a wonderful day!

Then, to complete our joy, we received this news on the 22nd of November:

Beautiful little Isabelle made her safe arrival in Gatineau Quebec! Baby, mother Merrilee and father Francis are doing well. Big brother Samuel (15 months old) isn't sure what to make of things yet. But his sister is so darling, we know he will fall in love with her too. A perfect ending to a wonderful month.