It's been 2 months since I came to you with news about Ray House, respectively news about the events of September and October.

         During this time, God helped us and we managed to put everything we needed for the winter: eggplant, peppers, red peppers, beans, mushrooms, pickles of all kinds, vegetables, tomato juice, jams, compotes, zacusca, fish paste etc. Tireless hands worked hard and filled the pantry and the refrigerated boxes, and mother Tatiana was the one who was not absent from all this work! We kiss your hands, Mother! (pictures 1-8)

         Household and farm activities also continued, being of course combined with play, anniversaries and moments of relaxation. (pictures 9-20) The celebrations of this period were Ionel(17 years old), Laura (10 years old), Gabriela (13 years old) and Madalin (17 years old). May God bless everyone and help them make the best decisions for their lives! (pictures 21-24)

          Warm greetings, dear friends! We hope you are well and your health has not left you.

          As for the children and the staff at Ray House, God protected us in these 2 months, July and August, and all the tests that were performed regularly, had a negative result. Thank God!

          One of the things we missed A LOT due to this pandemic was the visit of friends from America. Year after year, we had an indescribable joy when we spent about 2 weeks together, but this year we missed those beautiful moments. However, we had a small part of that happiness, when Jim sent us a short video in which he told the children how sorry he is that we can't be together, a video to which he attached some photos taken together in 2019. Thank you VERY MUCH Jim for the beautiful surprise! (picturea 1 and 2)

          The months of May and June were months of continuous quarantine, just like March and April, so the activities at Casa Ray had their "stage" also in our house and in our yard (with one small exception that we will mention later;).

          The children had regular activities such as housekeeping, play, birthdays, relaxation and learning. Especially the learning for 6 of our children and young people because at the end of June they had to take exams that would allow them to move on to the next form of education. (pictures 1-17) Oh, let's not forget. We also had a moment of artistic creation. :) (picture 18)

          In March, until the school classes were suspended and the quarantine itself began, we had some activities specific to spring, namely: gardening, painting trees, cleaning orchards and landscaping by Florin Dodita :) (pictures 1-7)

          Also at that time we received a donation of clothes and shoes from our friends in Germany, goods that brought great joy to the children and great joy and relief for us as well. (pictures 8-11)

          The month of February, the last month of winter, was like a late, cold autumn, as was the whole winter we had this year.

          Due to these high temperatures this season, the respiratory viruses that haunted us have affected many of our children. Only 5 of the boys resisted without getting sick, on the other hand all the other 14 went through conditions from the easiest to the most complicated. We cannot say that these viruses have passed completely, but they have reduced and are beginning to approach the end. We thank all those who support us in the medical field. We have months when these expenses far exceed the allocated budget. (picture 01)

          With joy we can let you know that the little ones started a fellowship group, a group that Doinita herself is dealing with, one of the big girls. We are glad that they find such concerns and that the big ones apply in their turn what they were taught. (pictures 2-4)

          We also have apprentices in the field of machine repairs and manual work, apprentices we are also pleased with! (pictures 5-10)

          Welcome to 2020!

          For the children at Ray House, the year 2020 started very well, with the holiday !!!

          Almost half a month ago, the children were able to enjoy the free days they had. We made an outing in the city with the little ones, they played with the little snow we had in our yard, we went with the big ones to a "second New Year" together with the young people from the Pentecostal church, and the children received one more gift. If we were to look at it from the perspective of these activities…. let it be a vacation!! (pictures 1-14)

          In addition to these recreational activities, of course the household activities continued their course, two of the children, Florin and Ciprian, even participated in a volunteer activity. They helped to clean an apartment of a single mother, which was affected by a fire. (pictures 15,16)

          Welcome back! We hope you are well and healthy!

          For us, October was a month full of blessings, we saw fully how God poured out of His goodness over the Ray House.

          He multiplied the fruits of our lot, so we harvested fresh vegetables in October. The glory of Him who makes us grow and fills our rooms! (pictures 1-6)

          In addition to what we have managed to gather from our own harvest, we also have benevolent friends who share their crops with us, which is very helpful, considering that the Ray House serves 2250 meals a month. God bless all those who care for orphans! (picturea 7-11) From the gifts received, we were delegated to help some other families in need, and the joy of those people filled our hearts, living on our skin the verse that says: “It's happier to give than to receive!” (pictures 12,13)

          The big event of September was definitely the start of the 2019-2020 school year. Some with joy, some with sadness, others with curiosity, passed this new school year under our prayer of blessing. Gheorghita is the one who first met the school, which already gives him a headache, and Dumitrita, Madalin, Vasile and Ionel got acquainted with the high school and everything involved, including the shuttle. Now we have 10 young people who are in higher education, high school, vocational and 10 children in secondary education. Our children grow up! (pictures 1,2)

          "Vegetables" is another word specific to autumn, which will accompany the month of September. Young and old, with ours, but also with aids, for example Mihaela Anton, one of our big girls, we managed to fill 2 refrigerated boxes with 100% natural goodies. Praise the Lord for the work power he gives us and especially for that he gives to mother Tatiana. (pictures 3 – 8) Besides the vegetables, we also have the tasty meat, all naturally grown, also from our own farm! (pictures 9,10)

          The last holiday month has passed so quickly ... as one day passes. It is now August 1st and we immediately woke up and said: it's the last day of summer!

           However, our young people have taken full advantage of these days, going some of them to a camp at Voronet and another part to a camp at Bicajel.  Here they gathered beautiful memories, new friends, good teachings, intense experiences ... only good to make them very melancholy and unwilling to start school. :) (picturea 1-6)

          While the big ones were away in camps, at home there remained a small group of small children who enjoyed all the attention and space we have. The whole yard and all the toys were theirs. Gheorghita enjoyed less, because after an incident at the swing he had to stay 2 weeks with his hand in the plaster. (picturea 7,8)

          Welcome back! We hope you are well and healthy. Again, we will take a few moments with new information about the events of July.

          July brought a lot of joy to the children, because they were gone to the camp. Both the small group and the large group had a blessed time with other children in our county. The camps took place in Campulung, at a cottage in the middle of the mountains. Socialization, games, refreshment, fellowship, good food, hikes, testimonies, etc. were the main activities of the camps. The children came very excited at home, most of them enthusiastically telling about the moments they lived. We are glad that after a whole school year they were able to have these moments of relaxation and joy. (pictures 1- 8 with the children’s camp, pictures 9 – 19 with the youth camp)

          Of course, besides these weeks of total relaxation there were also days full of household activities. The boys again gathered the hay (picture 20), and the girls picked beans ... and ... by the way, we had a very rich year in terms of beans. (pictures 21,22,23)