Karen & Ruben Popet – Beraca Orphanage in Jdioara, Romania

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.   James 1:27

May, 2020

Dear Friends,

We pray this finds all of you safe and healthy during these uncertain times. The children, teenagers, workers and Ruben and our girls are all healthy and adjusting to the new lifestyle. The schools will not be opening for the rest of this school year. The teachers are finishing up the classwork through zoom and other online methods. That has been a challenge for Ruben as we have children in 10 different grades. It takes both laptops and sometimes his phone to keep everyone in class online. The schools will still hold the year-end exams for the eighth and twelfth grades. These exams determine what high school the eighth graders will be in and if the twelfth graders can go on to college. So, they are very important. Manu will finish eighth grade and Bogdan will finish twelfth grade. They have been doing extra work to prepare for the exams.

We have put in a garden at the farm this year. We haven't done one for a few years. Everyone helped and had fun doing it. The younger children like to go to the farm every day now and water the garden. They then stay for a couple of hours and play. There are many places to go for hikes around our village. So, Ruben has taken everyone on several hikes. They even found a small waterfall on one of their excursions. The children and teenagers always seem to find things to keep them busy. Besides school, they have a basketball court, a soccer field, and a rollerskating park in their backyard as well as a playground with swings, a slide, a sandbox and a playhouse. For them, the stay at home order hasn't been very difficult except for missing their friends at school.

The older boys have been helping to fix the walls and to paint their rooms and the younger boys' rooms. Every few years they need a fresh look. It has been a good project to do since everyone has to stay home. We are also going to replace the floors with new laminated flooring. The existing floors are very worn.  

Every week, we buy food for the people of the food bank. Then we divide it up into bags and deliver the bags to the people who regularly come to our food bank. They are so appreciative of the food. They really need the help. We have also received two shipments of food items from Lidl in the last couple of weeks which has been a blessing. God is an amazing provider for us.

We are so thankful for God's watchful care of our work in Romania. Things are going well. We are thankful for all of you who continue to support our work through your finances and your prayers. May we all keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

 

With our love,
Ruben, Karen and Bianca

Beraca Foundation, P.O. Box 674, Jacksonville, IL 62651; karenpopet@gmail.com

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