Romania - Visit September 2010
Find out what happened during the visit to Podari in September 2010..
The main purpose of this visit to Project Hope was to help harvest the maize and alfalfa. Both of these provide winter feed for the animals and other livestock. Our first task was to go through the maize taking off the cobs and making piles of them. The plants were well above head height and with the hot temperatures we needed to start work early as the heat became unbearable by late morning. The next day’s task was to cut each maize plant as low as possible to the ground and make piles of them, leaving enough space between piles for the horse and cart to get through. After that the cobs were thrown into the cart and taken to the chicken compound and thrown up into the loft above the cow shed. For those closest to the shed this was quite hazardous, but not as bad as for the poor chickens who had taken refuge the other side of the cow shed when a powerfully thrown cob went straight though the window shattering it and raining splinters of glass.
The next day our task was to tie the corn stalks into bundles with previously gathered reeds. These we then loaded onto the cart and were taken outside the chicken compound where they were stacked as high as a two storied house. The chickens, turkeys and pigs will be fed the kernels from the cobs and the cows and horses will munch their way through the maize stalks during the winter. Even the husks from the cobs will be used next year on the barbecue (it’s the Romanian charcoal).
Our physical work was not over as the alfalfa was ready to be harvested. Rain was forecast and if the work of scything, drying, gathering and stacking wasn’t done before the rain arrived it would be bad news. Fortunately the three days it took to do all this were rain free, keeping off until the work was completed and the stack covered with a tarpaulin.
It was very satisfying to see the fruits of our labours and also caused quite a stir, and a witness, to our neighbours and passers by. ‘Bosses’ in Romania don’t do physical work – they just supervise the workers. Not only did we do physical work but we worked quickly and did a good job.
Postscript
Recently those directly involved in Project Hope were invited to write down their thoughts about the vision. The following are excerpts from Costică and Marian’s contributions:
Costică
We took the decision together to adopt young adult orphans with problems of disability. We considered that it is thanks to God that we have received His love and that it is our turn now to give love to those who don’t have it and to help them to know the true Father – God. The day when we were adopted into the family of God we handed over our hearts for Him to live there through the Holy Spirit and I believe that when the Holy Spirit has people He wants to invite into His family, He uses us. My further vision is to help people know the love of God. We offer various play activities to the children and whenever the occasion presents itself we sow seeds of God’s love. There are times when the children come with their grandparents or parents and in the same way we seek to show them God’s love through the activities of the project.
Marian
This association is sponsored by brothers from the Christian church of “St. Peter’s in Great Britain,” it was set up in order to help young people without parents leave the social protection system in order to be able to have the opportunity to learn house keeping skills at the same time offering the chance of being able to live an independent life, and in the future to have the capacity to progress and to have their own family.
More exactly Project Hope gives support to young people without families who are not able to integrate into society. Thanks to the caring people of this project who want to help these people, it is no mistake that the project is considered a HOSTEL AND A WARM HEART FOR THOSE WHO FIND THEMSELVES IN NEED.
I, Marian, am one of these young people who left the care system, and I understood that it is the purpose of this project for me and for others that will be cared for here. How great is the love of the King of love, GOD, for people.
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