As we reflect, we once again realize that Christmas is not really about shopping and parties and presents and special dinners, but about God who became the man Jesus--not so that we could celebrate His birthday every Christmas, but so that we can celebrate His life and resurrection and sacrifice for all of our sins daily, all those of us who have faith in Him as Savior and King.
We've needed a lot of faith this last year! Our life has been centered around the clinic building project. We started redesigning the smaller building, to contain only the clinic, in January. By May the first two of three containers from the US were on their way. Several of our missionary and Romanian friends attended the groundbreaking/dedication ceremony May 23. The very important final building permit didn't get approved until October 3, having been promised "next week" ever since mid-May. The hole was dug in May, the basement wasn't completed until August 1, then the light steel construction began.
The third container arrived in October, just before a team of volunteers from North Street Christian Church in Butler, PA came to work on the drywall. Some of the team also worked with a home for street kids and another home for children of street children and young women who were forced to leave the orphanages where they grew up, having reached age 18 (with little education and no work skills or families to turn to, most girls turn to prostitution to survive when forced to leave the orphanages). Even though the main reason for the team's coming was to put up drywall, the friendships that developed and their witnessing some of the difficulties of daily life for Romanians impacted them, and us, deeply.
The Romanian construction team is continuing to do the finishing of the interior walls. We are still waiting for the basement windows (made here in Romania) to arrive, so the building can truly be enclosed for the winter. The last picture we took for our website was November 3, with the exterior front just about finished. We're waiting for another sunny day (it's been cloudy for the last month!) to take some more pictures to add to our website (www.odmm.org).
There is still so much more to be done before the clinic is finished and ready to open for us to see patients. This includes finishing the interior, the lights and plumbing fixtures, connecting to the city electricity and gas (without these, we have no heat!). Also, we need office furniture, some medical equipment, phones, computers, etc. Then there's still all the outside work to be done--fences, parking lot, sidewalks, front stairs and wheelchair ramp. Actual costs have been considerably higher than our initial estimates, partly because we didn't realize all the many things we would have to pay for and also because of the great difficulty in finding out prices for things! God has provided enough funds for our project up until now, sometimes at the last moment, but with the installation of the heating system and connecting to the city utilities, the funds for the completion of the project will be exhausted once again, and the finishing work will have to wait until more funds are provided.
When we came here 6 1/2 years ago, life was difficult for the average Romanian, and it's gotten steadily worse. The average salary is less than $100 per month, with 40% of people living on less than $35/month! Their number one concern is avoiding starvation. Their poor nutrition contributes to a lot of illness, much more than we saw in Minnesota. Many people have had their heat, hot water and electricity cut off because of inability to pay their bills. Elections were held in the last 2 weeks and the moderate "reform" government was overwhelmingly defeated by both the ex-Communists and an ultra-nationalist party. Most of the people have lost hope once again. But despite their poverty, we still often see joy in the faces of people who know the Lord and trust in Him. Jesus is our only real hope. We hope that the clinic will be one tangible source of love and hope for many here who have suffered so long.
We are still waiting for the official confirmation that we will actually gain the dual citizenship that we need in order to obtain licenses to practice medicine. Our unofficial medical practice continues to grow. We continue to go to the Adventist orphanage every other week. On our last visit there, none of the 30 children were sick or on antibiotics! One 6 year old boy, Elvis, has recently left for his new adoptive home in the U.S., another adoptive family from the U.S. is here now, doing the last paperwork and getting to know their new son, Ionuts, and two sisters, Felicia and Roxana, ages 6 and 4 are waiting to be adopted together by another American family. Felicia has always been such a loving "big sister" to Roxana, and we are so happy that they will be able to stay together!
We've done lots more this year--not all work! We've had several guests from the U.S. Our kitty, Sunflower, is still really cute. Last spring we finally made a car trip to Turkey after 6 years here, and also last month visited friends in Budapest.
We really look forward to the completion of the clinic! The building project has been stressful! Especially things like knowing that our decision to not pay bribes has significantly delayed obtaining the necessary approvals and always being told that something will happen "next week." Also, three months we haven't had enough money to pay our employees, but the Lord has always provided at the last moment!
We're looking forward to a 4 month home assignment from mid-March to mid-July. We plan to take a vacation, take some medical refresher courses, Milt gets to take his Family Practice recertification exam, and we will be visiting some supporters and churches. We're setting up our calendar already. Please let us know if your church or another group you're in is interested in hearing about our mission and vision!
We wish you all of God's blessings during this special Christmas season!