Long time no see & a Blessed New Year :)

Prepping about 350 Christmas gifts with Jen and Corny

Cooking class and games with the kids at Peris school

Ziua Nationala a Romaniei : On Dec. 1 we celebrate Unification Day in Romania. On December 1, 1918, the Transylvania (where I was born), Bassarabia, and Bukovina regions officially unified.

In October / Novemner, we had a Harvest party with our kids who live in the apartments where we work in Rosiori

Ruthie, Roby and Alina's oldest daughter, turned 13!!

This church family is a real blessing!!

This is the cabin we all stayed at in Rucar - stunning scenery

One of my teens in Sunday school

Church retreat

Melissa is a God send for us, and it is a joy to serve with her. She is missionary who lived in Ukraine. She is fluent in Russian and helps us immensely with our kids and especially with translating. We're grateful to be partners in ministry. She and her husband, Sam are truly dear friends to us

Amy with A 

Melisaa and her son Oli co-teaching our character lessons in the school in Rosiori

Ira with some of her kids-this was such a fun girl's day!!

I decided to see how I would look with blonde hair/ blonde highlights. So, I asked my dear friend Ioana, who is a professioanl hair dresser at one of the most sought after salons in Bucuresti, to put in some blonde highlights. It looked so good!! But now I am awaiting for the blondes to fade and let my natural jet black - naturally red high lights return

Craft time with Amy and Jen

Lunch in old town with Dave and Nancy

At church with Dave and Nancy!!

Part of the crew at Petruta's birthday party

In September, we celebrated Petruta's 18th birthday. She is gal we have been working with since she was little. It is amazing to see how much she has grown in these past years. We are praying for her future, as she is of age to no longer life in the state run orphanages. May God protect her and bless her and her future. 

Our older gals at the school in Alexandria and I send our Christmas greetings. And we hope you have a blessed New Year celebration, - that the Lord bless and and protect and provide in exceptional ways in the coming year. 

Hello and warm greetings from Bucuresti! I first want to apologize for the delay in updating you all. So much has happened in the past 10 months and finally have been able to catch a moment to send an update. I'll do my best to keep it savory, sweet and short - so as to not bore you to sleep hahaha. If you wish to truly catch up, feel free to write or text or call me. 

Since March, we have had lots to thank God for. And we've been quite busy. In summer we had 2 amazing and wonderful teams! Can I just say we absolutely had a blast together, and are so thankful to have served alongside them, and are blessed that some are even returning next summer! :) 

In June, Cassie came to intern with us for about 6 months. It has been wonderful getting to know her over the months and serve alongside her. 

In fall we had an American style yard sale to raise funds for our pool renovation project at the pipera house, where we host teams and camps and events. We are waiting with open arms to greet a team that will come and help us renovate the pool in spring. 

Melissa, Corny, Cassie and Nicu and I have been continuing to visit the kids in the schools and apartments we work in, in teleorman - Rosiori and Alexandria. We've following the them of people of good character: talking about character traits of a good friend, responsible member of society, a person who is compassion and empathy, and what it means to be honest and humble. After the holidays, we will continue visiting the schools and apartments and working with our kids, and studying these character traits. 

Also, in the fall, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend a retreat with Alfa Omega church-where most of us at H2H attend. We went to a small city with in the Brasov region, to Rucar, located in the mountains. It was perfect weather, the scenery was breath-taking, and I am thankful that this time opened up new connections and paved the way for deepening friendships in the church as well. 

Oh! And!! In September, some very dear friends of the McGlashan family (my family), Dave and Nancy came and visited us at H2H in Romania!! We toured the city. My directionally challenged self gave them a lovely walking tour of the city center, seeing historical sites and important monuments in Bucuresti. We also visited the botanical gardens in Parcul Cismigiu. The highlight was getting to share in mnistry with them, preparing about 30 or more large jars of zacusca-a popular grilled vegetable spread, and salata de vinite- which is an eggplant dip (looks like hummus). We also attended church together, and we even celebrated Dave's Birthday which was amazing. I am thankful that they were able to share in ministry with us, and see my native Romania as well. A highlight for me was getting show them some of my favorite spots, and enjoy amazing gelato together. 

In December Cassie returned to the states, and we are hoping and praying for her in her next chapter of life. In November and December, we had Thanksgiving and Christmas and enjoyed sharing memories and enjoying God's blessings together. Additionally, Corny and Jen and I worked hard over the past several weeks to pack approximately 350 gifts to give to our kids in Rosiori, Alexandria, and at Peris (school/and orphanage). Currently we are working to pack even more gifts to distribute to our kids who live in child-protection agency run apartments in Rosiori. 

Ukrainian Refugee Ministry / Snagov Update

This fall, we made the decision to close the Snagov house, as our remaining two families have moved to other centers here, in Bucuresti. We have been working hard to clean the house thoroughly to hopefully put it on the market to sell once again. 

Our mom of 8 kids, Ira and her family have been moved to a different center, which shares the property with Alfa Omega's building they're renting. So, it has been nice to see Ira and her kids at least on Sundays, for now. After the holidays we hope to spend more time with Larisa, and make more frequent visits and spend more time with Ira and her kids. Ira's situation has grown from complicated to more complicated in the past months. It is heart-breaking because Ira's choices greatly impact her kids, and you can see it's consequences each day, each week we visit them at church. We've been inviting the kids to come to church. We are praying that Ira will accept the invitation to join our church family at church. 

Mrs Larisa has been moved to another center. She is working now, and is preparing to have surgery in the near future. Her daughter, Marina and two kids, Nikita, and Masha have moved to France. This is a difficult situation for Larisa. 

Please pray for us! 

** Unity and Peace in our staff team

** That this coming year be a year of Refreshment and Renewal and Rejuvenation

** For Jen and Corny to have safe travels to the states on their furloughs for their furloughs to be a time of relaxation for them 

** For good health for us staff

** Funding and provisions for the pool renovation project in the spring. We're seeking and working on raising approximately $20,000 usd. 

** Each person that is going to come to Romania and serve alongside us this year: all those coming in March, April, and in Summer

** Larisa's surgery to go well and without complications, and for her speedy and smooth recovery

How you can help us!

**If you feel led in your hearts to give (an extra, and additional gift to your current giving) toward our pool renovation, you can give online, and label it specifically for the pool renovation project-in addition to your current giving). Feel free to write me or call me if you would like more information about this!

**We welcome all to come visit us in Romania and to serve with us. Come on a team, or intern with us. 

If you have a high schooler, or college student who is interested in ministry, or education and is seeking to grow in their gifts and passions, we gladly invite them to intern with us for 1 month or longer - if the time allows and God wills it :)

Thank you for taking the time to read this update! And always, many thank you's to you for your faithful support and continued and heart-felt prayers. Blessings to you and your families and loved ones in the coming year!! ~ Caterina