On May 1, 2008, the Living Hope Center carried out its first major outreach into the local state hospital. Using funds specifically donated by many of our faithful supporters, LHC staff and volunteers purchased supplies and assembled individual kits for local hospital patients. The distribution was a tremendous success, as LHC directors Adi and Lavinia Dreana report below:
Dears,
Health care in Romania is more generally poor by European standards, and access is limited in many rural areas. In 2001 health expenditures were equal to 6.5 percent of gross domestic product. In 2005 there were 1.9 physicians and 7.4 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
May 1st it is going to be memorable day for the rest of our lives. This is labor day in Romania and everybody is going having parties and the tradition is to drink a lot of beer and eat tons of Romanian sausage. We choose to spend it different. We decided that we want to make a difference in the lives of the ones left out from the “party time.” It is another way to build bridges for Christ.
God provided through each one of you the great opportunity to make 150 hospital kits to take it to the oncology department. It was the first initiative like this in the history of this hospital. If you want to make a horror movie you pick the building of the oncology department.
Ben is a patient 56 years old who has a few more months to live: “You added another drop of life, another drop of hope.”
Diana is the head of the nurses: ”We feel the guilt and frustration that we should be able to treat our patients in better conditions. Your gifts give us hope”.
Frank, a teenager, is one of the volunteers: “I see life different now”. Last Sunday he came to me saying that “I want to become a servant of Jesus”.
One of the most touching scene was at the psychiatry department, to see 2 people sleeping in one bed, because of the lack of room and also 30 patients in a little room. That was shocking. We believe is time not just to evangelize our communities by “preaching”, but taking the church in the community and serve. Serving people makes a greater difference than “speaking to people about God”.
There is other thing to be excited for : our volunteers were people who have never been involved in community service and they were sooo excited that they made 150 kits in 25 minutes. All of them asked: when is the next project? We just want to thank each one of you for your opened hearts for this unique project.
In Christ, Adi and Lavi
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