KSBJ 89.3 FM Houston Radio Interview

Sarah Berchtold and Mary Buckalo had the opportunity to be interviewed by Kim Wier at KSBJ 89.3 FM radio station during their stay in Texas! During their interview, they were able to speak about Firm Foundations, how they both got their start in Romania, Sarah Vienna music, Saturday's concert at Kingwood Bible Church and more! Listen in to hear the full interview:

ARE YOU IN THE HOUSTON AREA? COME TO KINGWOOD BIBLE CHURCH AT 7PM, SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21 FOR A FREE SARAH VIENNA CONCERT!

Romanians Helping Romanians, by Ioana Staicu

 In December 2014, after hearing about our After School Program, Mrs. Alina Tudor, a teacher at Iacob Muresianu School in Brasov, wanted to get her students involved in helping the children of Budila.  Mrs. Tudor shared the need with the kids in her class and their parents.  With the support of Mrs. Letitia Neamtu, the principal from Iacob Muresianu School, clothes, shoes, backpacks and school supplies were collected for the children in the Program.

We were so blessed by the generosity of the children and their parents to help our kids in need.  We were truly amazed at the amount of donations we received from this Mrs. Alina Tudor’s first grade class.

The children in the After School Program were so blessed by all they received! We are very thankful for Mrs. Alina Tudor, Mrs. Letitia Neamtu and to all the children and their parents from the Iacob Muresianu School in Brasov who were so caring and willing to help by donating to our children in the After School Program!

Multumesc! A Look at Our Most Recent Donations, by Katie Greiner

Thanks to the wonderful donations that we receive from all over, we are able to provide clothes, shoes, toys, and hygiene items to the mothers and children staying in the Brasov Children’s Hospital and Maternity Hospital, as well as to the families in Budila that we are working with, and to various children’s centers in the area. 

Thank you especially to our past long term volunteer, Mary Lynn Mountjoy, our current short term volunteer Emma Rawlings and to Karlien Imants for organizing our most recent shipments of donations, and to everyone who helped and donated so many wonderful items! The clothes, shoes, winter coats, diapers, wipes, creams, and hygiene items have been such a blessing and we have been able to put so much of it to use right away!

Getting donations ready for Mom's!

Ready to hand out donations!

Ready to hand out donations!

Lauren and Beth giving away donations to a mom in the hospital.

Visiting mom's in the hospital and giving them donations.

If you are interested in donations of any kind,
please visit our website here.

The Heart of a Fighter - A Sidonia Update from Steffi Vogel

Welcome back beautiful girl!

Sidonia is back in Kids Club! Lidia and I visited her yesterday morning before she was discharged from the hospital. I believe it was God who sent us there, to have the opportunity to remind her father to bring her to Kids Club again. 

After more than six months battling Luekemia, doctors have declared her a healthy 5 year old girl. She will have to go back to the hospital for tests regularly to monitor her recovery, so please continue to pray for her in the coming weeks and months. 

Just one of the kids again.

To be honest, when the day of Kids Club arrived I did not believe that she would show up. However, even though she arrived 20 minutes late, she did come! I was in the play room when I heard Lidia yell, "Sidonia is coming"!!! I am just so happy to have her come today. During play time, she played like a normal kid making up 'fake food' for me and feeding it to me with a spoon. She made my day!

Celebrating her belated birthday today. 

Watching her singing songs and trying to remember the words, totally made me tear up. Lidia talked with the kids about prayer. She reminded them how much they prayed for Sidonia and spoke to them all about what prayer can do. God is showing his greatest through this little one.

God has a calling on this girl for sure, He is directing her steps and blessing her life. She is a miracle girl and we want to thank all the people who have been praying for her and sending her well wishes. Thank you especially to the doctors and nurses who have been caring for her so well, and to Amalia her play therapist, who has been spending extra time and effort and loving on this girl these past months that she has called the hospital her home. 

Steffi with Sidonia, only weeks old. 

Sidonia's birthday was this past Sunday, she turned 5 years old. Since she was born she has been a part of the FFR family, so many volunteers have loved and cared for her. Please continue to pray for her health and for her mind as she adjusts to life back in the village with her family and move past this obstacle. 

GOD IS GREAT!

Heads Up! It's Sarmale Time

We had our teenagers come and teach our short term (and long term) volunteers how to make one of Romania's most famous dishes, sarmale. These cabbage rolls stuffed with pork and rice and covered in a tomato sauce are so yummy! It is also a great opportunity to get together with the teens that FFR sponsors to live in Brasov. They're part of our Brasov family and we love to get together with them and let them know we're here for them. Here's a look! 

A Tale of Two Wipes

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you an important news bulletin from our Donations department. We are experiencing a shortage of baby wipes and need the publics help! If you can send wipes, or monetary donations specifically for this cause we would be so grateful. Here's why they are such a simple, yet important part of daily life at the hospital!

Merry "Little" Christmas - from our resident Ukrainian, Mary Buckalo!

Each year Mary Buckalo has passionately led us in a Ukrainian Christmas celebration on January 7th. Affectionately known in the Buckalo house as "Little Christmas", we have all enjoyed becoming a part of this tradition. Click here to learn more about this celebration, and hold onto your toques as we take you on a journey through the making of our perogie feast!