Violins & lap tops donated, new well sunk and hay gathered in

Violins - At the end of April a family here in Romania asked if there was any chance of me getting a violin so that their daughters could start lessons. I put out a request to all our contacts on the Isle of Man and had a fantastic response which ended up with not one but 5 violins! They have been given to families who had no hope of affording to buy their own and we have had the privilege of seeing the joy on the faces as we delivered them.

Laptops - Thanks to the generosity of companies on the island we have been able donate a number of 2nd hand laptops to children and to the centre for children with special needs. Lap tops are particularly useful as they take up less space in small houses and also cope well with the variable power supply.

Well - After many weeks of waiting and a change in contractor a team of men and their equipment eventually turned up late one evening and sunk the well. They worked through the night, sleeping for just a couple of hours in the hay barn, eventually hitting an impenetrable layer of lignite type material at 7m deep. It was certainly an interesting process to witness especially as they worked by lamp light in the early hours. The well coincides with a spring or underground stream and fills with 3000 litres of water within 3 hours.

Over the next few weeks we shall cap and cover the well and fit the hand pump.

 Hay - The same evening as the well was being dug we were busy helping to get the hay in. The pajero & trailer acted as horse and cart to gather the hay and move it to the barn. We reckon we have 60 cubic metres of hay in and more to collect from other fields which were cut last week.

Land - We have had more rain this week, and thankfully no hail (crops in some areas of the country have been wrecked by storms this week). The ladies from the families spent some time in the field weeding around the potatoes and corn.

 It is now time to be vigilant looking for Colorado beetles which attack the potatoes with enthusiasm here.

Houses - Work continues on the house with internal insulation going into the ceiling panels tomorrow. We are still waiting for authorisations to come back which will enable us to progress the new electric supply.

Thanks to all who have helped support the work here in Romania either by, donations, prayer or just contacting us with an encouraging word.

Ziua Copilului &......Children's Day &........

Hi friends or anyone who reads this blog, and if you do read this and find it interesting please let me know, get in touch if you want more info or have word of encouragement for us.Well what have we been doing over the past couple of weeks, since the building team left?

June 1st is a National Day for children in Romania (Ziua Copilului) and in the afternoon we spent a few hours with the children at Cobila. It was 28C that afternoon and the special treat of an icecream was very welcome, we had also made up a gift bag for each child containing, a new toy and T-shirt, crisps, biscuits and other treats.

Work on the house has continued, though at slightly slower pace as work on the land took priority. In the new build house the soba (traditional wood burning stove which is used to cook on and heat house) has been built. External rendering, electrics, fencing, internal plastering and painting still to be completed.

Prayers were answered and we have had a couple of days of good rain, which was very welcome as having had to water trees and crops, the well at the back of the land at Cobila was getting very low. Last week the ladies from the families all worked together and spent nearly 2 days weeding the field, in perfect timing it rained the next day and the corn and other crops are looking much better and we pray for a good crops for the families here. We bought certified seed this year which we hope will give higher yield and better quality corn.
In the garden we have already enjoyed spring onions and radishes and salad. Tomatoes, aubergines, castroveti, peppers, spinach, beans, peas, onions, potatoes, courgettes, pumpkins all well on the way.

The New Well, we eventually sourced a hand pump which should be delivered on Monday and will be fitted to the new well. We have been waiting a few weeks to get this well dug and have now asked another company. They came promptly to deliver some of the tubes, but will have to wait for land to dry little before the heavy machine can be brought on site to dig the well.

The school year ends soon & then a 3 month vacation! BUT before that end of year excursions and parties which each parent has to pay for or the children cannot attend (as i am sure you can understand many parents here can barely afford food). Another compulsory expense at the moment are final exams for older students.

The financial crisis is hitting hard here, with those lucky enough to have a salary having wages cut, social allowances are also reduced and food and utility prices are escalating.
Thank you for all prayers and support which enable work here to proceed.

New house and new arrivals

Ok folks apologies if you been eagerly awaiting blog updates, this one has been promised to many for past week or so. but somehow time and creative writing have been in short supply. Chris and I had a busy first half of the month preparing for this years house build and last Saturday we drove down to Bacau to meet the 4 folks who arrived by plane. David & James arrived early on Sunday morning. We have had a fantastic week with the team from the Isle of Man here. They have been working hard, starting on site at 7am and finishing 7pm. In 4 days the house is up, roof on and insulation being fitted. We have also visited families, sorted and delivered aid, purchased food and delivered food parcels, had a BBQ and childrens fun afternoon for the families in HoH homes and friends. Pictures to follow soon.

Speranţă

Amazing to think we have been back for 8 days. As we travelled we drove through snow and temperatures of minus 2, for the first few days it was wet and muddy but today it feels like spring and a lot warmer. It has been great to have Jackie with us and to share our work here . I have caught up with paperwork and Jackie has helped to sort boxes and bags. we have distributed aid to families and other charities who we work in conjunction with.

As well as catching up with the families living in the Hands of Hope homes we have visited around 25 other families with food parcels some who live in a village near the Ukraine border. The village is about 10 miles away over rough roads on the way back the Pajero rescued 2 vans. First a white box van stuck in the mud then a tip up truck which had landed in a ditch!

Highlight of last week was to attend the baptism of one of the ladies who lives house built by Hands of Hope a few years ago.

Last Friday we went to our friend Liviu's church and heard the renowned speaker Alejandro Rodriguez from YWAM Argentina. A message to encourage and empower the young people in the church, He spoke in Spanish and was translated into Romanian and we understood most/some of it!

On Saturday we had 18 children in the cottage and spent a lovely 3 hours doing craft activities and playing games. Hope the weather will continue to improve so we can get the bikes and outside games out this weekend.

On Monday Jackie and I spent time at the Star of Hope Centre in Dorohoi and it was wonderful to see how much progress some of the children have made in the past 8 weeks.

The warmer and drier weather has enabled outside work to commence and the men at Cobila have been helping to improve the site by laying drainage tubes. We hope it will soon be warm enough to get planting in the garden and on the fields.

Funds were donated to buy another goat to supply milk for the families in the homes at Cobila. now all we have to do is source the goat, went to the market this morning and to another farm this afternoon but not found the right one yet. Hope to contact someone else tomorrow so watch this space. The cow at Cobila is threatened with the BBQ if she takes much longer to become prgnant! She was named "Speranta" or in English Hope, by the guy who looks after her and she has given lots of lovely milk but needs to be in calf again so this can continue.

please get in touch if you want more info about work in Romania and let us know what you think of the blog. ruth@handsofhope.org.im

3 people, 3 days, 3000kg, 3000km

Jackie, Chris & Ruth, left the Isle of Man on the Friday evening ferry and arrived in Dorohoi 3 days later. 3000km (1864miles) driven carrying a 3000kg load of aid and building supplies. Having travelled for over 27 hours we stopped for our first night in Nurnburg. Day 2 we crossed the rest of Germany, Austria and Hungary arriving at the hotel on the border around midnight. our final day was the drive across Romania. This final leg is only 361km (225 miles) and we would expect it to take us 8-9 hours of almost solid driving. On Monday it took us 10 hours as we encounted heavy snow across the mountains. we arrived about 6.30pm and spent a couple of hours unloading the car and catching up with the families at Cobila. A lovely welcome from them all. It was cold this morning around 0C, apparantly it was snowing here at the weekend, now we only have heavy rain which means mud mud and more mud. Today we have been busy showing Jackie around Dorohoi, meeting families and more unpacking & sorting clothes ready for distribution.

Leaving IOM for ROM

Well we are all packed up and ready to leave family and friends in the Isle of Man and reunion with friends in Romania. We have travelling with us Jackie and we are taking a trailer with some aid but also the first delivery of house parts for the building project this year. Thanks to James and all those who have helped putting the timber frame panels together, sorting clothes, mending bikes and loading the trailer.

We have a maximum load and the next three days will be spent trundling across Europe hoping to arrive in Dorohoi Monday evening.

Building team and a group from Living Hope Community Church will be arriving in 5 weeks, lots to do before then.