In my last ‘Update’, I asked for prayer concerning my trip to Romania on February 9, arriving in Brasov February 10.  I think we all should have been praying ‘harder’.   :))  The trip was a ‘bear’.  From taking off an hour late in a blizzard in Grand Rapids, MI with the runway having to be constantly plowed and sanded/salted, and the plane de-iced – to a four-hour layover in Newark (with a late departure) – to absolutely no sleep on the eight-hour flight to Munich – to another four-hour layover in Munich (with a late departure to Bucharest) – to Ovi’s being 40 minutes late to pick me up due to traffic – to the three-hour trek up to Brasov, — by the time I reached my flat, my brain was mush and I felt like a truck had run over my body.  All in EST, I went from 5:30a, Friday morning to 12:45p on Saturday – nearly 30 hours with no sleep.  The trip took its toll.  We’ll just have to pray more intensely over my next trip – and even more for that wisdom I’m always asking for.  No more flights with two lay-overs!  :)

I spent the next week getting over jet-lag, resting my body, entertaining several friends and even visiting some.  It’s so good to be back in ‘the other land that I love’!

Concerning Alina — she has good days and bad days.  Once in awhile, she can’t even get out of bed for a whole day.  Some days, she manages to get up and make a little lunch or wash a dish.  Since she had the flu a few weeks ago, her bones and muscles still constantly ache.  She is desperately thin – and depending on what medication she has to take dictates whether she can eat, or not, due to the nausea.  Please pray for this precious friend who always has a smile on her face – for her complete healing!  It’s been a long bout with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – twice!  Pray for Robert as he so lovingly takes care of her, the children – and everything else.

It took at least fifteen minutes at Barza Mica for the kids and me to get through all our hugging and kissing to be able to do some activities together.  We cry when we first see each other out of such joy – and then we cry when I have to leave.  I miss them as much as they miss me!  We have had more fun playing different games, singing, and reading Bible stories.  Amalia knows the stories so well that I think she could tell them herself by now.    PLEASE pray over Barza.  We are still in jeopardy of losing the orphanage because of the selfish, greedy government.  PLEASE pray for these ‘kids’.  The Lord has not forgotten them.  He cherishes the orphan!

My translator (and friend), Corina and I have had a blessed time at Albina.  LFA was able to get them $300.00 worth of OTC and prescription meds.  And, we have just loved – loving on the babies.  And, they (the babies) have loved it, too!  Many of them are very, very sick.  Also, as soon as I walked into the orphanage, I noticed that their hair had been pretty much sheared off.  I knew immediately it was because of head-lice.  Pray for these precious little ones whose day – every day – is just the same as when I set foot into Albina 12-14 years ago.  I pray for the Lord to take them Home.  If you could see them, you would do the same.

It has been a joy to be back at our new church, Canaan in Halchiu.  I love these hard-working, but so very poor peasants.  And how they love the Lord!   The bathrooms don’t have the finishing touches on them, but they are usable.  Praise the Lord!   A head’s up –  the building isn’t finished yet, but we are very much in need of new chairs.  If you want to help with that . . . :)

The beautiful ladies from FRBCA in Lawrenceville, GA – headed up by Adina Iuoras (and spurred on by Lidia Nicoara) have just shipped 500# of clothing directly to me here in Brasov.  AND, they have paid for the shipping themselves!!   We are so grateful to whomever donates ‘new or like-new’ clothing, also, in the Northeast.  But, we are also praying that along with each donation of clothing comes a monetary donation.  Shipping is expensive!!!

If you noticed the logo on Love From Above Ministries FB page – it has been corrected from its blurry appearance to a much sharper image.  That is thanks to Tihi Szasz – who built Love From Above’s website.  My daughter-in-‘love’, Michele did an amazing job in setting the ministry up with FB, but could not ‘fix’ the logo without the original design.  Since Tihi had the original design, he worked on it and did a great job.

The weather has been dark and dismal since I have arrived in Brasov.  And for the past few days, snow, snow, and more snow.  And besides that, several days of frigid weather.  On February 26, my gas line began to freeze up coming back into the city from Barza Mica.  My little VW Golf chokes and sputters over any temperature below fifty degrees.  So, unfortunately with a spell of 12 degrees, I sadly had to miss a couple of days at Albina.

I would ask you to keep the ministry in prayer – for God, Himself, to give the increase – for wisdom concerning Barza Mica – for comfort and protection over all our babies and ‘kids’ – for safety on the roads – for my car to perform better – for relationships – for good health for both Corina and me – for increased funds – and most importantly that wherever we go people will see Jesus shining