December update

After a busy few weeks we are on our way back to the Isle of Man for Christmas with our family.

Last week we helped Simona, Marcel and their 3 children move into their new home. This home had been partly built using funds from the local authorities, but as it was unfinished they faced another winter in the old house (the one barely habitable room was the smokiest I have ever been into). We were so happy to be able to help by fitting a soba for them to cook on and heat 2 rooms in the new house also finish roof, ceilings, flooring and fit a new watertight front door. Marcel had worked enthusiastically alongside our workers and both he and Simona were so grateful for the help.

Simona Marcel and children move in to their new home

Carl Hunt and Ellie Davis were with us for 4 days and worked hard to help with all the shoe box deliveries to the schools and families. Ellie works for “Samaritans Purse “in Humberside and had had an exhausting 7 week campaign preparing boxes. The previous week Carl had helped with loading the lorry. They had heard that these boxes were destined for Botosani Romania and were thrilled when I was able to put them in contact with the distributer in Botosani and for us to visit the warehouse that was storing them. While Carl was with us we also met the Chief of Botosani Firefighters and Carl will be visiting again next year with more equipment.

going home from school with their boxes

Yesterday (Sunday) was our last full day. Church at Varfu in the morning (accompanied by one of the Cobila families). We then went to Botosani where we had been invited to have lunch with one of the families we help. It was a delicious meal of soup, sarmale and homemade biscuits.  We then went to visit a family delivering our last shoeboxes and also a computer for her 3 children. We got home about 7.30pm having been out for 10 hours. We had only been in for a few minutes when there was a knock at the door. It was late for anyone to be calling and we were not expecting anyone. It was carol singers, the families from the Hands of Hope homes at Cobila had come to give us a fantastic Christmas send off.

Carol singers-25 of the folk from Hands of Hope homes at Cobila

Now we are on the train (a 7 hour journey to Bucharest). It has been very dry here for the past 6 months and on a grey day the view is very monochrome. We travel through vast expanses of bare fields, passing occasional villages and old communist era buildings (many abandoned and in disrepair), the clumps of bare trees and the sporadic brightness of a green painted house, children walking home from school or a horse and cart ambling along a track.