Seeking A Broken Heart - A Volunteer's Perspective

Below is a wonderfully written piece by one of our volunteers, Holly, who is here with us in Romania for 7 weeks. Her ability to capture some of the emotions experienced when volunteering in the Brasov Children's Hospital is incredible. We thank you, Holly, for being able to put to paper what so many of us have not been able to express!

The second week at the hospital has ended. I am a wordy person who loves language and grammar; finding words to describe working with sick and abandoned children leaves me at a loss.

What can be said about a diaper rash so severe, the child's skin peels off and blood seeps onto the crib sheet?

What words accurately convey the sight of babies desperately trying to pull themselves up and cling to crib bars in attempts to reach the arms of the grown-ups peering down at them?

What words set the scene for an infant quietly staring at the ceiling, a single tear spilling down its cheek, the only evidence of distress because it has learned its cries will not be answered?

What words describe the attachment issues when a toddler calls a just-met volunteer, "Mama"?

What language portrays the weariness and frustration of nurses who faithfully work around the clock, yet cannot hold every crying baby or interact with every wailing toddler because there are not enough hours in the day or hands to accomplish the work?

Those are some of the experiences from the past two weeks.

It shouldn't be that way. But it is.

People can ignore. Indifference can be the order of the day. Yet reality remains, even if everyone on the planet refused to recognize it.

It hurts. Hearts break at the sound of their cries. It isn't fun to witness pain, suffering, and sadness.

But broken hearts won't kill us. Trust me. Mine has been broken many, many times, and here I am typing away on my nine-year-old laptop.

Hiding from the suffering of others does not make it go away. Only by coming alongside is the burden eased.

Will every orphan find a loving, stable home? No.

Will many of the babies we hold at the hospital die young from disease and malnutrition? Yes.

Will every child grow up knowing they are valued and irreplaceable? Hardly.

Leaving it at that is exactly what satan desires. The deceiver wants us to be indifferent, close our eyes and stop our ears, doubt our actions have any real meaning, make excuses, and give up. It is overwhelming knowing many of the babies, statistically speaking, will not lead happy, balanced, healthy lives. I go back and forth with God all the time about this subject. I just flat out don't understand why millions of children are born into a lifetime of suffering. None of us get to choose where or to whom we are born. I was born into a white, middle class, American, Christian family. I could easily have been born to the lowest caste in India and died at the age of five from eating raw sewage to fill my growling stomach. Or I could have been one of the sick babies at the hospital where I volunteer, screaming until my cries became hoarse and barely audible. Instead, I was raised by two loving parents; never went hungry; always had a warm, safe place to sleep; enjoyed being a kid; was highly valued, disciplined, and protected; and was granted an excellent education. I did nothing to deserve any of that; nor did these babies do anything to deserve their current circumstances. I do not have it all figured out. I go to God all the time with big, aching questions. Some of those questions will never be fully answered this side of heaven.

This I do know, though. We must take action. Push back against the darkness. Set the world ablaze with light. Jesus said to give a cup of cold water in His name. He did not say, "Give every single thirsty person on earth a glass of water, and if you aren't up to that task, just stay home and forget it." He kept it simple and personal. One cup of water. One person at a time.

One crying baby snuggled. One diaper changed. One rash soothed.

That is what I hold on to when the doubt creeps in and I wonder if any of this even matters.

Will that person be thirsty again? More than likely.

Will that diaper need changing again? Absolutely (wipies are heaven-sent and whoever invented them deserves an award).

Jesus instructs us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. If I had been abandoned as a baby, I pray loving arms would have come to find me, even for a few hours a day. If I had kids and for whatever reason was unable to care for them, I pray kind people would welcome them into their home and reserve a space for them at the supper table.

Love is not merely a word. It is action. And a broken heart is exactly what we all need.

Are you interested in volunteering with Firm Foundations Romania? 

APPLY NOW

Yikes, Bikes!

We are currently looking for a team to come as early as Fall 2015 to set up a bicycle workshop  for our children in Kid's Club and the After School Program.

 This workshop will include bike safety, proper technique and hands-on teaching with our kids. If you are interested or know someone who is, please email us at mail@firmfoundationsromania.com

Thank You Missions of Mobile!!!! By Rachel Titiriga

We were incredibly blessed to have the Missions of Mobile Chamber Choir from the University of Mobile visit our After School Program for two days last week! They came to Romania to spread the love of Christ and touch hearts through their incredible gift of music.

The team performed some amazing songs for us and the kids loved every moment of it!

They taught the children some dance moves and how to sing Amazing Grace in Romanian and English, shared their testimonies and stories, prayed for us and loved on the kids in our Program.

 

Here is a little video of them working with our younger kids, teaching them some dance moves!

For the last group, we had all of our 5^th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders.  It was a BIG group.  The team did an amazing job of singing songs for us, and in between each song, a member of the team would share their personal testimony of how the Lord transformed their life.  It was an awesome time.  You could see the hearts of the children being touched as many cried hearing the stories that were being shared.  Then at the end the team gave the opportunity for the children to share their stories or to ask for prayer.  Many were prayed for and when the invitation was given by the team for anyone to accept Christ as their Savior, several raised their hands to give their lives to Him!  It was awesome, by the end of our time together, every single child and adult in the room were crying from the amazing experience.  Being touched by the love of Christ and the love of this amazing team! It was a time of refreshing and blessing!

Firm Foundations Romania and especially the staff and children of the After School Program want to thank Graham, Shadoe, Chris,  Chris doi, Matt, Matt (Stefan), Josh, Blake, Caleb, Tori, Emily, Grace, Brydon, Karissa, Sarah, and Brittany for coming out to Budila and for the blessing you were to each of us!

We hope you will keep us all in your hearts and will come back to visit!

SPOTLIGHT on Sarah Vienna Berchtold

You've all read about the projects, the kids, the hospital and life in Romania. Now it's time for you to read about us! That's right, we asked the staff of FFR a series of questions so that our friends and supporters could know a bit more about us. First up, our fearless President and rock-star extroidinnaire, Sarah Vienna:


How long have you been in Romania? 
I’m going on 13 years now and counting! 

Where are you from originally? 
Born in Massachusetts but grew up in Northern California … I am a Pacific Coast Girl☺ 

What brought you to Romania? How did you start working with FFR? 
God brought me to Romania, however he used my friend who was a former orphan named Daniela. FFR is my baby☺ 

What’s your favorite FFR project and why? 
The hospital project will always be my favorite project of all time. Touch and love are the most important to me in my life and this is what we are doing for those kids. 

What’s one thing from “home” that you miss? 
Besides frozen yogurt, I miss communicating freely with strangers due to the complication of the language barrier. The Romanian language is not easy for me. 

If there was one food or drink that you could bring to a Romanian grocery store, what would it be?
Diet Ginger Ale, and blueberry greek yogurt. Yum! 

Where’s your favorite vacation spot in Romania? Outside of Romania? 
In Romania there is a quiet location outside of Bran near Dracula’s castle. The mountains are to die for and the location brings me back 100 years in time. Outside of Romania I would have to say Italy is my favorite location for a getaway. 

If legality, finances and logistics weren’t an issue, what’s one project you would love to see FFR start? 
An International Adoption Center finding loving families to take in the babies and children in the system. 

If you had to pick a Romanian name for yourself, what would it be? 
Raluca

What’s your favorite traditional Romanian dish? 
Hmm…I could not list a meal, but I do love Romanian fresh fruits and vegetables sold at the market. 

Approximately, how many diapers would you say you’ve changed in the Brasov Children’s Hospital?
Over a 12 year period that would be hard for me to estimate. Take a guess☺ 

If you could spend the day with anyone in the world, living or dead, who would it be? 
Moses. He was humble, yet strong. I would love to hear about his adventures while living in Egypt. 

Who is your hero? Why? 
Hard to name one, but I have always looked up to Joan of Arc due to her courage and leadership. 

What about the Roma people inspires you to continue working with FFR? 
They deserve a chance in life and they love music like me☺ 

If you were granted one wish, what would that wish be? 
That everyone in the world would come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as his or her Savior.

God Uses Grief by Beth Kent

Beth & Lauren in the Brasov Children's Hospital

Five years ago this June, Chris and I lost our precious baby boy Isaac, his heart stopped beating when I was 36 weeks pregnant with him. We were living in England and received the most incredible, caring, sympathetic and compassionate care at our local NHS hospital.
I delivered Isaac in a private room, where Chris, myself and our family got to say goodbye to him.
There are no words that can begin to sum up that experience, none fitting enough to fully explain the sheer agony of having to say goodbye to our son that we never truly got to know.
But in the bleakness and the shock of those days we had doctors, nurses and consultants telling us every detail that we could possibly need to know. They told us our rights, our options and they made sure that every need was met and, more importantly, they gave us the time to say goodbye.
The hospital gave us a keepsake box, where we treasure a lock of Isaac's hair, his tiny foot print and precious clothes. Isaac was given a birth and a death certificate which meant we could have a funeral, a place where our baby could be laid to rest. And after this we had options of counselling and support groups and follow up meetings with our consultant. We were cared for, in the thick of grief we were cared for.
Now living in Romania, I volunteer at the maternity hospital for Firm Foundations Romania. Each week we hand out care packages to mothers who live in poverty. This last Wednesday we were doing our normal shift when we met Amelia*, a 17 year old Roma mother who had just lost her baby. He had been born alive, but tragically he died in the night.
Amelia was in the same room as all the other mum's who had just given birth, she watched them leave to feed there babies (babies and mothers are separated after birth). We got to chat to Amelia and hear what had happened and as we did I started to see just how different our two experiences were. She had no idea of her rights, no one had explained her options to her.
Her husband and family never got to meet or say goodbye to their son (men are not allowed past the reception of the hospital). There was no keepsake box, no tiny footprint, no clothes to remember her darling boy by.
I'm uncertain of how much was ever explained to her about what happened to her son and why he passed away. As we held her and let her share her heartache she explained that no one had come by to talk to her. This poor lady had just lost her baby and now she was alone in a room full of new mothers with no medical staff explaining what had happened, and what was going to happen.
Was it because she was Roma? Or is this just how death is handled here? In a cold, uncompassionate way. We managed to get some details for her from the medical staff, and get her sons wrist band. He wasn't given a birth or death certificate.
We are going to continue to meet with Amelia and her husband to support them in any way we can. I totally believe God lead us to Amelia, and that we are to love, support and care for this precious, grieving family.
Having been through something so similar to Amelia, I am shocked at the stark contrast in our care. This is not something we can see and then turn a blind eye. We would love to provide the hospital with some keepsake boxes, each box will contain support cards with our contact information, a casting kit and frame (so they may have a print of their baby's hand/foot), two identical hats and two blankets (one for the baby and one for the parents to take home) and other support information. 
Obviously getting these items will cost money and so we want to fundraise to ensure that unlike Amelia and her husband, future parents will have some lasting memories of their babies.
If you are interest in donating then please email us at mail@firmfoundationsromania.com. Please be praying for Amelia, her husband and family; also that we will see a change in the way the hospital handles these types of cases in the future so that other parents here in Romania who find themselves in this tragic situation may receive clear and more compassionate care.


*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual involved

He Is Risen!

Easter is such a joyous holiday! The resurrection of our Savior is certainly something to celebrate. What a blessing it is to be a family made up of people from all over the world! Take a look at our festivities and be sure to let us know how you spent your Easter Sunday.

Make A Joyful Noise!

One of our favorite things is hearing our kid's from Kid's Club singing the songs we've taught them. Their enthusiasm is unmatched - what a testament!