The Hearts that Keep Giving ~ România 🇷🇴Mission ~

We had a wonderful service project with the Banca De Haine (meaning Clothes Bank). This is a self-made organization of a group of friends collecting donated items that they sort, organize and give to homeless shelters, orphanages and others in need.

They are not part of an NGO and are not sure that they want to be as this is 100% for those in need.  No one gets paid.  That is why we love helping them!  Their first building they had been using was just 1 big room, another small room and an entry/exit area.

They have found a gorgeous old house that the owners are kind enough to let them use.  The owners are in the process of restoring it but since the restoration has been placed on hold they are allowing these amazing people to use their house.  It is truly an exquisite old manion and is just so stunning.  This home (I'll have to take a picture of the outside) is so large and has 3 stories.  The man took us on a tour and this is the kind of house I would love to live in (although there are way too many stairs so I would insist on an elevator 😉)!

This group of people are so generous and give of their time freely to help others less fortunate than themselves.  The Falslevs found them and we have been invited to help them as much as we can on any Tuesday or Thursday!  Part of our little group got to work in the toy room ~ this was a dream come true (we were in the adult clothes last time and that was quite difficult to sort sizes of pre-teen to XXL)!  The toys were a blast and I felt like we were setting up for a boutique!  I wish I would have taken a before/after picture but I didn't take any pics but Sora Falslev did! It was fun sorting through the toys and imagining making some child, who will be receiving some of these toys for Christmas, so happy.  These service projects are a sweet reminder of the generosity of others.

These are our dear friends, Mark and Ava Falslev.  They are on a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints just like us but they are Humanitarian Missionaries.  This takes them all over the country of Romania where they have many projects going on that keep them very, very busy! They had the opportunity to go home for their youngest child's wedding; we were so worried that they wouldn't make it back to Romania because of the coronavirus ~ but they did make it back here and we spent a couple hours catching up with them! They are the best and we #givethanks that they are here 💙😇💙! They make these service project possible for us missionaries!

These are just a few of the projects that the church does. Donations from members are used around the world to help people improve their lives. Since 1985 donations have allowed us to provide $2.3 billion worth of assistance to millions of people in over 197 countries and territories. Our name is a reminder that the humanitarian effort of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is made possible primarily through the generous contributions of its members, known as Latter-day Saints. 

In October, Bill and I had the opportunity to sit in on one of the charities (ANAIS) that address domestic violence and victims in Romania.  We could feel the compassion, love and concern for these women, children and sometimes men who are in situations of domestic violence and just don't seem to know how to escape it and get out of the cycle of returning to a similar situation.  The panel is very realistic about understanding that it won't help by just "removing" them from the situation but to educate them, give constant counseling and build up their self-esteem so they can move out of the cycle of abuse and go forward in their lives. The LDS Charities are involved in so many good causes throughout the world and it is exciting to be a part of and get a glimpse of that wonderful organization! Just like Bill and I (and all the missionaries) we are not paid but rather support ourselves for the whole time we are out serving.  This is the same with LDS Charities. Mark and Ava are paying their own rent, food and all that they need to serve here for free and go throughout Romania and find projects.  They use their time, energy and donations that the church receives to help these types of organizations, other NGO's and people in general.  It is a nonprofit organization and 100% goes to help others! We #givethanks to all of you throughout the world that work with charities and are so charitable yourself in helping those in need ~ Charity is truly the pure love of Christ 💙😇💙!