Dear Friends and Family,
R. is one of the three young children I work with at the Valley House. Together we read books, do art, practice math problems, write stories and listen to music. A 9-year-old third grader, he is all smiles each day when he climbs the stairs to the upstairs where we spend our mornings. His entrance the other day was particularly memorable for me as he came in, beaming, and asked “Do you like my hair His head was completely wet and hair meticulously spiked up and arranged la modă. It made me smile imagining him standing in front of the mirror arranging each strand just so.
R. and his parents, grandmother and younger sister are living on the street near the Valley House in make-shift shelters formed out of scraps of wood and heavy plastic sheets. They were kicked out of their old home at the beginning of the summer by the pre-Communist period owners who claimed their right to the property. Right now R. and his family are waiting on a response from the mayor's office about a new housing situation.
One morning not long ago I decided to give R. and the other kids some free time for an art activity. I set a pile of construction paper, scissors, glue and markers in front of them and said that they were free to create whatever they wanted. R. immediately said, not to my surprise, “I want to make a house.” He set out on his project and what he ended up with is pictured to the right. He said that it is a very beautiful house, and this is what he wrote about it:
My house is beautiful, and I want to put it on display. And I want to put Christmas ornaments on it. John lives here. And Monica and April. And Justin. And Cristina. And me. And Silvică and Ms. Geanina and Ms. Gabi and Ms. Lenuţa and Jessica and Monica. In the evenings they sleep. They learn. And Vali. One good day I built the house. A ton of people came over. I put Christmas ornaments on it. I put a Christmas tree inside. John came and built it. He stuck bricks in it.
All of the people R. mentioned in his writing are either staffers or other kids who come to the Valley House, a good representation of our community.
Please join me in praying for R. as I continue to learn from him about how to be open and generous even when there seems to be nothing to give. Join me in praying for mercy and justice for his family. Join me in praying that the love and joy he shows others each day would be poured back over him abundantly.
Grace and peace,
John Koon
OP6 CP256
Galati, 800.760
Romania
614.364.4098
PRAYER REQUESTS
1. Pray for R., his family and the other families living on the street outside of the Valley House. Ask that they would receive an answer about housing soon and that we would know how to love and serve them best. Pray for justice.
2. Pray for the kids who come to the Valley House as they enter into a new school semester this January. Ask that it would be a semester of growth and learning and healing for each of them.
3. Continue to pray for our newly forming Word Made Flesh field in Moldova. Ask God to guide us as we plan, pray and dream.
Some Notes from Daily Life
* We had a great potluck Thanksgiving feast with the entire Word Made Flesh Romania community. Highlights included turkey, stuffing, mac & cheese, sarmale (stuffed grape leaf rolls) and apple crisp for dessert.
* As I write this on December 15, we are busy with Christmas preparations. We will have two days of caroling around the city with the children on the 23rd and 24th and will then celebrate on the 25th with games, music, stories, food and a sleepover at the Valley House.
* The children have been singing in different local churches each Sunday over the past month. It always brings a smile to my face to see the joy and freedom with which they sing.
* I spent this past weekend in the Transylvanian city of Braşov (to the northwest of Galaţi, in the mountains) with the servant team before their December 15 departure back to the States. Their four months with us were full, and they will be surely missed!
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