Issue No. 17 December 1999
Love on the Way
On November 17 our completely-filled 40 foot sea
container with over 22,000 lbs. of relief supplies and
Christmas shoeboxes left the Haven of Rest Farm in
Chambersburg, PA, for its journey to Romania. We were
touched by the response of people, from California to
Virginia and from Maine to Louisiana, wanting to help the
Romanian children. For several weeks, Larry and Sue
Hartman's living room became a depository for the
Christmas boxes and for bags of new clothes and shoes.
Our Thanks to "Santa's Helpers"
We want to thank Larry and Sue for allowing us to
interrupt their normal schedule and letting us use their
huge storage barn to collect food and other materials for
the container. Larry, Sue, their daughter Missy, and some
of their friends and relatives (especially Sue's mother,
Gladys, and her best friend, Dolly) sorted, packed and
organized thousands of shoe boxes and plastic gift bags
for the Romanian children.
Many thanks also to David and Kathy Walker, our Casa
Shalom Vice President, for recruiting churches to make up
the gift shoeboxes and help provide the shipping expenses
for the container. One Christian school alone, from
Littlestown, PA, sent over 300 shoeboxes!! (Thank you!)
We also want to thank Bruce and Anne Chase who came
from Morgantown, WV, to help pack the container. Joseph
and I got in the last week and we helped finish the
packing. We saw how much work was involved in sending
a container and realized how much easier it is when there
is an extra hand or two.
Pray for Customs Clearance and Lives Touched by the Lord
Now, pray that we will have all the papers needed for
customs and that the container will arrive safely at Casa
Shalom where it will be unpacked and prepared for
distribution. We are hoping that we will be able to
distribute some of the gifts on Christmas day. This will be
such a surprise for many of the orphan children who would
otherwise not receive any gifts. They will be so thrilled to
know there is someone, 5000 miles away, who is thinking
about them. This will give us a golden opportunity to share
the Gospel with the children. We want to thank each
church, organization and individual which has had a part in
this project. We also want to ask you to keep praying that,
through one way or another, the Lord will touch their lives.
Lord willing, our January newsletter will have lots of
pictures of children receiving the gifts you have sent.
Traveling and Sharing the Good News
Joseph and I were busy traveling and sharing in churches
for several weeks this fall. We thank you all for your love
and support for our ministry over here. We are grateful for
the new doors God has opened and believe we will be able
to accomplish even more in the new year.
Our New Garage and Storage Building
In our last newsletter we shared the desire to build a
storage place and a garage for our vehicles. The price
quoted us by a Romanian contractor was $40,000. I
decided to wait and talk with an American company in the
U.S. We spent six hours sharing with the president of the
company. He then said, "Tell me more" and we shared
about the ten years of our ministry in Eastern Europe
before the fall of the Iron Curtain, of the nine years of our
ministry since, and about the house for babies and little
children in Romania. He was so touched he began to weep
and said: "I don't know how big is the building you want,
but I'm donating it to you." We bought insulation and paid
the shipping for the building. It will arrive here in
Bucharest the middle of January.
Permits Needed
At the present time we are working on getting all the
needed permits to put up the building. We need to put in
the concrete slab, which will cost us several thousand
dollars, and then we need the crew that will help us erect
the building. Once again we see the faithfulness of our
God. Pray for us, as getting all the building permits can be
a long, drawn-out process.
The Children of Casa
Our Casa Shalom children are doing fine. They are all
growing up so much. I promised to let them be involved in
giving out the Christmas gifts to children from other
orphanages, and they are looking forward to doing so. This
way, our children can learn that there is more joy to give
than to receive. Sorin and all the girls were so happy to
see us after five weeks of being on the road. I thank God
for the staff that filled in and did a wonderful job while we
were in the U.S.
Christmas Greetings
Our big, happy family here in Bucharest sends Christmas
joy and peace to you and your families this Christmas
season. Thank you for loving Romania with us!
Becky Walsh, Director, Casa Shalom
U.S. Mission Address
For Financial Support:
Christian Faith Ministries Attn: Casa Shalom
P.O. Box 50538
Denton, Texas. 76206
A note about sending packages: Please do not send packages to Casa Shalom. We cannot get your packages out of customs without great difficulty. Send any package directly to us:
Rebecca Dan-Walsh
str. Donitei 15, sector 6
Bucharest, Romania
E-Mail: becky@dial.kappa.ro
"Please tell me more."
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