One cannot deny our world is filled with anxiety; people are reticent to ‘trust’. Many, surrounded by chaos, search for peace, long for an oasis in an unexpected desert they did not choose.
Hamilton will be releasing another publication based on his recent series on Psalm 23. ‘My Shepherd’. As I thought of an Oasis, I pictured a place of peace where the Shepherd leads ‘Beside Still Waters’, a place of stillness and rest. Yet, many are placed where violence and unrest disturb their peace, parted from those they love. Three words: ‘God is Love’. May they reach out and take this love. As you prayerfully read the contents of this prayer update, you will identify a yearning for comfort, a longing for a love that is dependable.
John Vance Cheyney wrote: ‘The soul would have no rainbow had the eye no tears.’ Thoughts play an important part in our life. Please take a moment to pray for the broken in heart, the fearful, the hungry, the thirsty. The Giver of Life is waiting to feed their soul with Living Bread; there are refreshing waters from the One who is the Water of Life. Remember them.
EMANUEL HOSPICE:
Noemi: The great physician was holding this little one close to His heart. Noemi is progressing well. A precious little darling who, although fearful, travelled bravely to Italy; quietly faced brain surgery (ten hours), followed by days in ICU. Her mum never left her side. Noemi has now been discharged and content to be reunited with her beloved family. She is more aware of the present and is able to interact better than before, which brings great hope to her adoring parents. However, she continues to experience epileptic crises, although their intensity has significantly decreased. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who took time to whisper Noemi’s name in prayer.
My colleague Dr Estera asks for your continued prayers for her ongoing recovery. She has a wound sited around her gastrostomy which is causing some discomfort. In the coming days, she will commence physiotherapy sessions as part of her rehabilitation programme.
Fabi (24) diagnosed with epidermolysis bullosa—a rare and painful skin condition urgently needs our prayers. For several weeks she has been struggling to eat properly and is rapidly losing weight. This has deeply affected her physically and emotionally. This ongoing challenge is making an impact upon her daily life, it is difficult for her to carry out everyday activities. She is currently undergoing further medical investigations to determine the cause of her worsening condition. Please pray the doctors will find answers and a positive treatment plan to enable Fabi to experience healing and relief. Your support and prayers will mean so much during this difficult time.
Maria is a patient with pancreatic cancer; her life story is tragic. Her husband was an abusive alcoholic who would often beat Maria and her daughters. Eventually, he left the family to live with another lady. Now, being confronted with her mortality, Maria is often haunted by the painful memories regarding her husband who is now deceased. She is unable to find peace and requires psychiatric treatment. Pray for our Homecare team that they will have the opportunity of ministering to her in revealing the certainty of the Word of God. We know there is nothing more certain that a promise the Lord places within hearts. May Maria find faith in His promises.
Ioan is a patient diagnosed with multiple myeloma who has suffered from diabetes and other health complications since he was in his early twenties. He is now feeling overwhelmed by this new diagnosis. Ioan comes from a family of Baptist believers and feels strongly in his heart that the Lord is calling him back to Himself despite all the wasted years he lived without acknowledging the Lord. Pray for Ioan that the Lord will continue working in his life. During the last home visit, he spoke with Adriana saying that he is thinking of being baptised at home. May Ioan fix his gaze on Jesus knowing guidance in every decision.
CASA GRACE:
Valentina (10) is one of Mariana’s seven children. She finished fourth grade with positive results, which was an excellent achievement as this family has known only pain and sorrow for many years. Mariana did not have the physical strength to attend the graduation. However, her brothers attended as a surprise and as is the tradition in Romania presented her with small bouquets of flowers. Each one of my patients, families, children and babies are ALL important to me, but this wee family has faced so may trials, words could never express. They may struggle but more importantly, they survive.
Mariana: Surgery did not take place as planned. Mariana was taken to theatre on two occasions only to be informed there were multiple tumours which are too large to remove. She was discharged with appropriate pain management.
Aliz (mother of three boys) and her Nigerian husband – are in need of your ongoing prayer support. Their smallest son just finished kindergarten; he is scheduled to commence school. The little boy has been diagnosed with learning disabilities; he is the second of the three boys to have the same learning disability. The Romanian state does not offer financial support for the special school he must attend. Graduation is a time to rejoice, but their world is shattered as Aliz has just been diagnosed with cancer of her cervix. Now follows days and weeks of medical appointments, tests, anxious days of waiting for results … May the Lord of ALL seasons, the Lord they love and serve, guide them with wisdom and hold them with His love. Psalm 54: 4 ‘God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul’.
Theresa, is a servant grandmother who came to faith a few years ago and prays daily that her whole family will be saved. Her husband has lung cancer, sadly still far away from God. Her children too have no time for the Lord and her heart is heavy. She has the added responsibility of caring for her three young grandsons who were abandoned by their parents and left in an orphanage. Their loneliness of abandonment and a loveless childhood have created traumas and mental delays in all three boys; Theresa faces a huge challenge taking care of them day by day. Pray for my colleague Monika as she prayerfully waits on divine guidance in how to lead this family.
Ioana (17) just started the sewing class. She lost both her parents in a motor accident. Ioana loves the Lord who has proved Himself to her. No matter how lonely she felt, fearing the future alone, in nights when she longed to be held by her loving mother, the Lord knew how deep her hurt was and proved He was and always will be enough. She commutes to the training course, making a two-hour journey to Oradea then a two-hour journey back home. Loana is only seventeen! Her desire for university has vanished quickly. She has made the decision to become a seamstress in order to create beautiful garments for her relatives and church family. She will need the support of my team in Casa Grace to guide her in becoming the woman the Lord wants her to be. Tonight, before you rest, whisper her name. Ioana’s hope is in Jesus because she has proved He will never leave her or forsake her.
Kingdom Kids is an extended programme of Casa Grace where we operate a special therapy programme for children who are brought into contact with different stimuli – tactile, audio, visual, smelling, rocking, where we carefully monitor their response. The purpose of this programme is to develop the maximum potential we can reach with the capability of each child with disability. We work on developing attention, focus, coordination, fine motor skills, language, exploring different toys, interaction in group activities, to decrease the dependence on a mother, father, grandparent, to encourage the children to participate alone with the therapist, assisting the child to have the courage to integrate into kindergarten school.
IOCHEBED:
We give thanks with a grateful heart to the Lord for the safe arrival of twelve babies during the past weeks. A gift of life from the Giver of Life. To God be the Glory.
Eva (5) is the daughter of one of our clients who also has a young baby of nine months. Little Eva was hit in the eye by another child resulting in one of her eyelids being split. The hospital doctor from Suceava strongly recommended for Eva to see a specialist based in Lasi hospital in order to confirm if her eyesight will be affected. The mother has requested our help, she doesn’t know where to go and has no financial means to travel to Lasi. Our team at Iochebed made necessary inquiries and found an eye specialist (private clinic) who expressed interest in the case. The doctor has now performed tests and has referred Eva for further investigations. Tests revealed a hematoma situated close to the damaged eye; unfortunately, surgery is not an option. The doctor recommended a one-month treatment plan. Please pray for little Eva that the Lord will touch her eye and that the family will experience the touch of the Master’s hand.
Sorina (18) came to our centre requesting a pregnancy test – the result was positive. She has been in a relationship since she was fourteen and has already suffered a miscarriage when five months into the pregnancy. Arrangements regarding tests and a gynaecologist were arranged and Sorina was lovingly guided during her attendance throughout our counselling sessions. As we write, Sorina went into labour prematurely and has given birth to a healthy baby girl. Please pray for this baby, pray for the young parents that through our involvement they will see the love of God in action.
Baby Gabriel (four months) was born with a degenerative disease – multiple sclerosis. Petronela, his mother, chose to keep the pregnancy even though her neurologist recommended abortion. Petronela extends her thanks to Tell Romania for supporting her on all levels since the birth of baby Gabriel. Dried Milk, Pampers, Baby Clothing are an expensive commodity when you are also Mum to eleven-year-old twins. The fact that we care is a constant source of encouragement to this precious family.
DENISA: Previously we wrote to you regarding Denisa, a young girl of sixteen, who is fifteen weeks pregnant. This is her second pregnancy, her first being at the age of fourteen. Sadly, the baby was born with a brain deficiency and subsequently died three days later. She comes from a poor family who struggle daily, Denisa was concerned as she had no finance to attend the hospital. My colleague Gabi explained the importance of monitoring this pregnancy. An appointment with a gynaecologist was arranged where test results revealed there was an infection which may affect the baby. She was advised to undergo further tests. Tell Romania covered all costs …
New Update – Denisa went into labour prematurely (twenty-eight weeks) and gave birth to a baby girl (0.800 grams) who is presently in an incubator. The doctors have reservations, expressing concern as the baby is so tiny and has contracted an infection resulting in no gain in weight since birth. Please pray for the baby’s recovery, pray for Denisa that she may approach this situation with a caring and mature attitude and make the choice to raise this little darling baby girl.
SOFRONEA:
My adopted son Andrei and his beloved Ligiashare special moments, special days as they wait on the arrival of their first child. The anticipated date is August 26. Anxious days for Andrei. Please cover him in prayer as he continues to lead and minister in the place the Lord has called him to serve. Pray for Ligia that she will be aware of the peace, stillness of a loving Heavenly Father who has granted the desire of her heart.
This week a Vacation Bible Study will be held at the Farm Church with help from a group of brothers and sisters from USA. It is expected twenty young people will attend. Pray for the team, pray for the young people that they would receive the gospel and that their young lives will be forever changed. Andrei’s prayer and desire is for families to come to Christ.
A sports competition has been arranged for July 05th. The main purpose in arranging this competition is to share the gospel to the participants, their families and all who will come to support them. There will be traditional snacks available free of charge, board games etc. During the competition Andrei and his team will mingle with the people, taking the opportunity of sharing the gospel. Pray for this event. It is something new and they want to plan wisely and organise well.
The Kids ministry continues to make progress. Every Saturday, twenty plus young people from the village attend the meetings. However, the youth ministry is not doing so well. Unfortunately, Andrei and his team find it very challenging to continue with the meetings because the youth are so inconsistent. There were many Saturdays they had to cancel because no one came. Pray for this ministry. The youth are coming; (5-7 teenagers). Please pray for this ministry that the Lord will move in the hearts of the young. We have some teenagers who are children of our members still unsaved.
May our prayers plant a seed of hope that will bring a life changing harvest that will last.
Shirley, June 25, 2025. (42B Bernice Road, Craigarogan. BT36 4QZ)