LIVADA ORPHAN CARE
LIVADA.ORG
…a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor. Isaiah 61:3
The
Livada
Orphan
Care
Quarterly
“FAMILY PACK” EVENT PROVIDES HYGIENE PACKS, UNDERWEAR, AND SOCKS FOR ORPHANS
Family Pack Give Back Challenge
Kids Helping Kids
Our US office is located in an amazing
multipurpose ministry facility called “The
Hope Center” in Plano, TX. On Sunday
February 8th, we welcomed 300 guests
to the conference center to our first ever
“Family Pack” packing event for orphans.
Each family brought at least 20 bags
worth of supplies to either pack a hygiene
kit OR age appropriate underwear/socks
bundles.
There were 75 families that participated.
We had a pizza party followed by a Livada
presentation with testimonies by the
Tripp and Michelle Parker family who had
come on a family mission trip with Livada
AND by ten year old Raymond Harrsion
IV who had sponsored a “pancake stand”
in his neighborhood to raise $200 for
orphans. Thereafter, the packing event
took off and, in an amazingly smooth
fashion,;we packed thousands of aid
packs and stuffed them into 25 duffle
bags ready for delivery. The best part was
seeing the kids so earnestly and selflessly
helping their economically challenged
counterparts in Romania.
1250 Pounds Of Love
It really was breathtaking to see love in
action. Everyone had a role. There were
sorters, packers, re-packers, haulers,
babysitters, cleaners, directors, and
entertainers. Everyone was on task and
the kids and the parents all stepped up
to the plate. These amazing volunteers
helped get all of the needed supplies
packed and ready for delivery that began
the next day!
Manna From Heaven
Upon delivery to Romania, new Livada
missionary, Emily Rodenbach, and LOC
staff member, Dragos Dan, helped
unpack the packs and to prep them for
the first delivery. We have always believed
in using humanitarian aid as a platform to
share the Good News. LOC staff member,
Niss Tinca, prepared Bible lessons about
“manna from Heaven” and “lambs being
taken care of.” All of the kids were divided
into smaller groups at “club” time so
that there was order instead of chaos.
They squealed with delight to receive
new toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap,
shampoo, underwear, & socks. The kids
easily related their new physical blessings
with the truth about God’s provision for
His people.
Please pray with us that our daily/weekly
interactions with orphans and at-risk
Gypsy kids will bear fruit that will last.
WINTER WARMTH AND WONDER DEC-FEB
THE LIVADA ORPHAN CARE QUARTERLY | Winter 2015
Trauma Competent Caregiving
Jayne and David Schooler came back to Romania this February to help us follow up with twenty
five of the key counselors in Romania who can help us develop a nationwide network of Trauma
Competent Caregivers. Currently in Romania, there is no training for caregivers who take in
these wounded children to foster care, group homes, or adoption.
We all wish that love and safety would be enough but unfortunately it is not. These kids need
competent caregivers who can see that their “crazy behavior” is the “voice” that they are using
because they have “lost their voice” because of trauma.
Author and Trainer, Jayne Schooler, leads
training seminar for Top 25 future trainers in
Romania. Through the Romanian Without
Orphans Alliance we hope to provide trauma
competent caregiving training for ALL foster
parents, group home parents, and adoptive
parents in the entire country over the next few
years. Please pray with us to this end.
Please pray with us that the following would occur for the benefit of traumatized
children in Romania:
Ü For regional training to occur this year in the four geographic zones we created
Ü That each zone leader would be able to recruit AND train others who can in turn do the
same
Ü That this training would change the way that abandoned children are treated by direct
caregivers
Ü That local government Child Protection Authorities would have a paradigm shift in their
thinking on training caregivers
Ü For all materials to continue to be well translated and easily distributed
Ü For the devil to not have a foothold that would create unnecessary bureaucracy and
obstacles to hinder this training
WAYS YOU CAN HELP?
Right now we have 39 kids in our full time care: 14 at Casa Ana-Nadia/Rebeca, 5 orphan grads
in transition, 14 in Foster Care, 5 at Casa Juliana, and 1 on the way to Juliana. We serve around
700 other kids through weekly interventions and outreach. WE COULD REALLY USE YOUR HELP.
Please consider sponsoring a Livada kid today. There are three types of SPONSORSHIP: Full Time
LOC Kids, LOC Foster Kids, and LOC Club Kids. Whatever you can provide will be a blessing to help
these kids experience God’s word and to have their practical life needs met.
Please contact Mira or Tripp for details: [email protected] or 972.941.4416
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Rice University
Students Share Good News with Orphans.
Please keep our Orphan Outreach
follow up ministry in your prayers!
LOC missionary Amy Begar came to us because she first came as a short term mission trip
participant two years ago with FCA from Rice University. This winter, her FCA leader, Joe
Hornberger, brought another team of college athletes back to Romania to reach out to orphans
again through sports clinics and aid distribution in our LOC Follow Up Clubs.
THE LIVADA ORPHAN CARE QUARTERLY | Winter 2015
LIVADA MISSIONARIES have a dinner to
welcome new Missionary Emily Rodenbach and
to discuss upcoming plans for 2015. Plesase
keep our current missionaries, Rebecca (Bex)
Rasmussen, Justin Hendrix, Alexandra Praytor,
& Amy Begar. And please pray for jason and
Rachel Franklin as they are raising support to
partner with the LOC staff by summer 2015.
DANIEL KALANYOS, one of the current LOC
teens, gave a brilliant Christmas message to the
LOC foster parents on the meaning of Christmas. Please pray for Daniel as he prepares to
take his final high school exit exam this summer. Pray that he would be able to pass it and
to be accepted into a local university this fall.
Pray that the Lord’s hand would remain on him
and that God would use Daniel to build up the
Church in Romania.
Casa Juliana Kids Thrive In New Home
The Lame Walk, The Mute Talk, and Heart
Transplant Surgery Is Cancelled!
SANDOR VISITS AMERICA: Sandor Lunca is a
graduate of the state orphan system and our
Follow Up Ministry. The Zaksek family has been
supporting his post graduate counseling and
independent living skills development. He was
able to come to the USA on a short term visitors
visa to help Kim Zaksek raise funds for her work
with Livada. Thank God with us for this miraculous opportunity and for Sandor’s continued
progress towards a healthy and stable independent life
Our newest LOC KIDS have only been in Casa Juliana since October but
we have already seen dramatic changes. The goal from the start was to
give them a sense of stability while also healing them. That is what the
Lord has done: Eva (8) had never been schooled in any form. She is now
learning basic math and is beginning to recognize words. Loi never spoke
Romanian and now he is communicating mostly in Romanian. We were
told initially that Sergiu needed a heart transplant. But as of last week, the
doctors said, “I don’t know what you are feeding him in that new home
but keep it up. It looks like he will not need a heart transplant now.” Ilinka,
whose deaf mute birthmother neglected her also never spoke to her. She
was three when she came into Casa Juliana having never spoken. She now
has a small vocabulary and giggles when she uses her newfound ability to
communicate with words. Alexandra has been at the Ludus baby hospital
for the past couple of years. She was frail and autistic and we were not
sure if she was going to make it. Today, at Casa Juliana, she is thriving,
communicating, laughing, and is able to feed herself.
Simultaneously to the healing efforts, our staff has also been recruiting
foster/adoptive parents for these kids. Lord willing, four of the five will
be placed in FAMILIES this Spring. This will make room for more kids who
need therapeutic intervention and someone to overcome the bureaucracy
to help them find a forever family.
The Fabulous Five! We have found a foster family for Sergiu, Eva, & Loi
that will allow them to stay together. Another family is interested in
adopting Ilinka. Please pray with us for permanent families for them all.
Please pray with us that the Lord would continue to heal these little
children AND that He would place them in permanent families. Pray
for our staff to keep the faith during their daily labor of love in the
name of Christ for these kids.
THE LIVADA ORPHAN CARE QUARTERLY | Winter 2015
LOC Private Foster Families Celebrate
Healing Kids and Offering Healthy Homes
There were a lot of reasons to celebrate this winter. Sami was able to have his very first birthday
party as he turned six. He was delighted to learn all of the traditions of blowing out candles, party
favors, and singing. He also rejoiced in that his siblings were all finally reunited under the same roof.
Initially Child Protective Services placed them in two different homes. After months of paperwork
and court appearances, we were finally able to get them in the same home. That was good and
bad. Bad, because it brought out the whole story of their abuse. Good, because it allowed us the
chance to stop the cycle of abuse and train the family. They live in a farm on the outskirts of a town
called Sarmas. The parents are faithful to follow through with the new therapeutic intervention
for each child. These kids came from extreme abuse and trauma and this family is bringing them
healing and hope.
There are also many other reasons to celebrate. Six of our foster kids are in the process of being
adopted by their foster parents. This is still new territory for us but we are VERY enthusiastic about
helping them finalize their permanent placements. It’s such a joy to be used of the Lord to help
create new families AND to help the most wounded of children find parents that are willing to help
them come out of the darkness of abuse and into the light of an understanding healing home.
Baby Valeria is now in process of being
adopted by her foster parents.
Reunited
And It Feels
So Good!
Irina’s foster parents are in the
final stages of adopting her.
Sami celebrates his birthday for first time.
Please pray with us as we work
daily to provide safe, well
equipped, trauma informed
homes for the kids and families
we serve. Pray that the Lord will
continue to use this platform to
help us share His love and the
Good News of salvation that
only comes from Jesus.
Nicusor is four years old and the only family he has ever known is his foster family. Because
Romania’s antiquated system forces a child to be transferred to the resident county of his birth
parents, the Romanian authorities wanted to remove Nicusor from his stable home and move
him to our county. After he was forcibly removed from his home against all of our pleas, we were
able to get the paperwork changed so that he could be, once again, placed with his foster family.
The traumatized Nicusor was all smiles once we got him back home. Please pray with us that we,
and our like hearted partners around Romania, can continue to stand in the gap for little children
who need caring adults to intervene on their behalf. Pray that the Lord would use us and ARFO
(Romania Without Orphans Allance) to “place the lonely in families.”