Thursday morning, the team had breakfast then walked to Amy's House to visit with the three teenage boys who live there with the Mihelczek family and their two sons. Amy's house is operated by RCE to facilitate semi-independent living for teenage kids with moderate disabilities. The three boys who currently live there, Otto, Manu and Ghitza, all work together at the second hand store operated by RCE, managing the inventory and helping customers pick out merchandise. The three boys will soon move into the center in Precica, which will have a newly renovated apartment for them.
After our visit to Amy's House, we went back to the Sunshine school to meet some of the students and see a demonstration of the things they have learned and to see how their class rooms work. We were amazed to see how orderly and well behaved the large group of students were. They sang for us, demonstrated their knowledge of the seasons, the days of the week, colors, the months of the year, and they spent time praying and thanking God. There were some games as well, and we could see that the students really love their school and their teachers. The students are now on summer break, and we could see how glad they were to see each other and be back together.
For lunch, we headed to a local park for a picnic with the Darius House kids. We played games of soccer, Duck-duck-goose and CRAMPA! After games, we all enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches, chips, tomatoes and water. The chips were a real treat for the kids. After lunch, we all walked through the forest to the Mures River. Afterward, we all packed up and headed back to Darius House and the Sunshine School.
While back at Sunshine School for a short break, the team took a short tour of the RCE offices and spoke with Ovi, Mimi, Cara and other staff about their work.
In the afternoon, we had a short stop at the RCE second hand store in Arad where we once again got to see Otto, Manu, and Ghitza. One of our fellow construction workers, Daniel, was there helping supervise. The boys were glad to see us again and helped a few of us pick out some great merchandise!
Late afternoon, we visited a village called Manastur. We visited on family that had a farm and had purchased a cow through the assistance of a microeconomic development loan from RCE. The cow provides milk and cheese for the family and is pregnant, so the family is expecting to be able to have additional resources once the new calf is born.
We then visited the house of a very poor family who have sought help from RCE. The staff of RCE are attempting to help this family have a better life, but their situation is much worse than any others we have seen on this trip. This visit made us all reflect on the blessings God has given us and how thankful we are for his love and care for us.
Our last visit was to the Moldovan family. They live in a small house that has been refurbished thanks, in part, to the McLean Thanksgiving offering. These funds with the assistance of RCE helped to install a new floor, bring electricity to the house, install insulation, and install a new wood burning stove for both heat and cooking. The family expressed their thanks to us and to God and pledged to care for their new home.
Our day ended with a spaghetti dinner and more volleyball back at the Sunshine School. It was another great night of fellowship.
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