December 2017
Dear Friend of House of Hope,
Greetings to you from the ministry of House of Hope! It has been too long since you have received an update, but I want to assure you that the work of the House is still going strong and making a difference in many lives. That includes the seniors on location and the girls who are living in the Director’s house to further their education. As of this writing there are now 82 seniors who call House of Hope their home!
This past summer was a good year for the garden, and the fruit trees and vines. Presently there are 10 pigs being raised to provide a source of meat. Just recently there were 200 chickens butchered and cut up. That is the 3rd batch this year of 200 chickens!
To the right are pictured the 5 girls who are continuing to study English with me. Izabela, Melania, Magda, Alexandra, and Naomi are all at the Christian High School. One 
isa freshman, 3 are sophomores, and the 5th is a junior. Four of them are from the village of Copaceni, where there is no high school. Naomi is from a village not far from Sibiu. There are 9 girls in the house altogether: two others are seniors in high school, one is a freshman at the local university, and the other young lady works in 2 different ministries. These girls attend a local Baptist church just down the street from where they live.
As most of you know, the House of Hope opened in 2003, as a transition house for girls who grew up in orphanages. Over the years, many young ladies stayed there to begin a responsible adult life – starting to work, learning how to care for their rooms, learning how to cook, and also being introduced to God’s love for them. As the years went by, the need for this ministry decreased, so that is why the House is now ministering to seniors and that need is huge.
The picture to the left is of 2 gals (with me) who were at the House of Hope for 5 years. Ileana and Irina have kept the same jobs for over 10 years and each has an efficiency apartment of her own. They are faithful to attend church each Sunday. This picture was taken 2 weeks ago as we spent some time together in downtown Sibiu at the Christmas Market. Your contributions are still yielding benefits after years of your investment in their lives! There are many other former residents who are doing well and continuing to attend church.
At this time, there are some financial needs at the House of Hope. As you know, the past 2 years have seen the need for renovations to meet the new Fire Department standards for buildings for seniors. That work has been completed and, at this point, ours is the only building that houses seniors in the county that is totally compliant with the new standards. On the top floor, all the bathrooms needed to be changed so that the doors were large enough for a wheel chair to enter. The showers had to be enlarged, as well. Doing that work required new tiles for the walls and floors, as well as re-plastering. All the beds are gradually being replaced so that each one can be raised and lowered by pushing a button, like hospital beds. At present, the amount needed to finish paying off the work described above is 8000 Euros or $9400. There is a need to put on permanent screens on the windows before summer, which will cost 2500 Euros or $2900. Would you prayerfully consider if you could help with these expenses?
Please continue to pray for the Directors, doctors, nurses, cooks, and other staff who take care of these seniors. At the end of these seniors’ lives, they have a chance to hear the gospel, many for the first time. A family in my same apartment building took their mother to live there 3 years ago and they are very pleased with her care. If you are led to make a contribution, the address is Greater Europe Mission, P.O. Box 1669, Monument, CO 80132. Please designate it for House of Hope on a separate piece of paper. Thank you.
Merry Christmas and God bless you richly in 2018!
Bev
Two more pictures from the Christmas Market in Sibiu this year. Yes, there is a prominently-displayed manger scene, which is included every year.
