Maria’s Report – January 2012
Happy New Year!!! …Is the most
common message we hear these days!!
I loved the pastor message on Sunday, telling us, that if we want
to have a happy new year what we need to do??? And it is soooooo
true what he said!
To have a HAPPY YEAR we need to:
-
Have God as our
Saviour and in our hearts, in our life, in everything we do.
-
Serve Him, and
serve each other.
-
Wait for Him,
prepare for Him to come back and spend eternity together!
Well,
this is what I wish you all for this year, 2012!!! I’m sure that
doing this our lives will be happier than ever!!
But, how did I spend the last few days in December?? Well I was
busy!
From my last report I told you I was getting ready for a Mission
Trip, sharing SOS (Sack of Smiles) with lots of children
and wonderful goodies with lots of people!!!
I would like to say
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
for the response we had from you and for the gifts of support we
received! We managed to make lots of people very happy and change
their Christmas in them realising people really cared for them!!
We had lots of celebrations in
December, at the School and
Nursery in Tileagd, Gepiu Community Centre, Cihei Family Centre,
and other locations of the Smiles Projects. God’s love was shared
with lots of people! Thank you for sharing in the JOY.
On December 21, we finished the office work……well officially!
and we were on holiday!! But there were a few Smiles members that
were still around! Our Homeless Container Village was visited by
some staff members from Celestica. A big logistics company
based here in Bihor County. They brought food parcels, sweets and
clothes to the people that live there!!!
Other groups, like the students from the Pentecostal High
School Betel, visited families from our projects! They are a
great example for the young people here in Romania and a great
encouragement!
It has been fantastic to see companies, schools and individuals
here in Romania responding to the challenge of making a difference
in the lives of their neighbours.
Finally,
on 24th December I went home to visit my family and
spend Christmas with them! It was a great time. I saw old friends
and family and I thank God for all of them. On Christmas Eve, we
went with Christmas carol singing. Over 40 people, young and
old, came together to praise God, it was wonderful.
So after Christmas finished, I had lots of plans of how I would
spend the New Year and the time that I had left of my
“holiday!”….But, as our plans are not always the same as God’s
plans, I was in bed, “relaxing” with a bad cold!!!!!!!
So for the next 6 days I had time to recover all the sleep that I
lost during the year….
But now I’m back at my desk!
I do not want to say any “new year resolution” because I do not
want to be let down by myself!!! But I pray that God’s protection
and wisdom and power to be over me, my colleagues, sponsors,
beneficiaries and all the people that I know!!!
We have a lot
of challenges ahead of us. So many dreams we would like to see
fulfilled, but the world is a sad and unsettled place right now
and fulfilling our dreams will require a big miracle from God. But
we have seen these before and I pray we will see again in 2012.
All of us, starting with myself, must play our part.
If we believe we are God’s Hands and Feet –
who
else will He send to do the work?
It might be you and me, so let’s pray for each other and be the
support we need for each other, today and every day of the year
Thank you for your support.
Have a blessed year!
