Eleos International Ministries works in partnership with the Sanctuary Orphanage in Romania to care for orphan children. Through your gifts we were able to build a new home for the children. Your ongoing support allows us to provide the entire operating expenses (food, utilities, schoolbooks, medicine, salaries, etc..) to run the new home each month.

Since 1992, the Sanctuary Orphanage has rescued over 120 orphans; about 80 of these children have been adopted and are living in families in Romania and throughout the world. Currently, 30 children call the Sanctuary Orphanage home. They are well cared for by a loving Romanian staff.

The Sanctuary staff has done a good job to create a family-like atmosphere for the children. They attend a local church and a local public school. They do homework and chores like any other child their age. The boys are constantly playing soccer in the backyard (they go through many balls!) The girls love spending time with each other in their rooms. They like to color and draw. In the winter everyone loves to play in the snow. Many of the children have even learned how to sing and play instruments. Sometimes they sing together as a choir at church or at a Christmas event in the town cultural hall.

A few years ago your gifts helped us to lay pavers to make a new courtyard for the children. Now they can ride their bikes, roller-skate, play basketball, volleyball, and do many other things on the smooth surface. The children love being outside. They play tag, jump rope, jump on the trampoline, pick walnuts, have barbecues, picnics, etc..

The Sanctuary staff are always doing fun things with the kids. After a long week of school, a Friday night movie and popcorn is so much fun. On Saturdays you will find the boys playing soccer all day with their friends. On Sundays, after church, all of the children from the three homes eat together. They enjoy a meal of either stuffed cabbage, pork and potatoes, or another one of their delicious traditional Romanian meals... and soup is served with every meal. One of the children's favorite foods are french fries and ketchup. The children go on trips to the mountains, nearby cities, pools, hiking, etc... One of their favorite things to do is to eat at McDonald's in a nearby city.

On the night we opened the newest children's home, Mimi Gatea, the Sanctuary Orphanage Director, asked the children how they felt about their new home, and what they liked about it? They all agreed that it felt good to be in their new home. They also liked their rooms, the lights, and "Everything!" Sebi, one of the children, got so excited and asked, "Are we going to have a Christmas tree? Where are we going to put it? Can we put it here?" He pointed to a place in the dining room. That first day, the home instantly felt like a family and the children felt safe and secure. One of the orphanage workers said it best, "This is a wonderful family!"

The Bible says, "God sets the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6). All of the children have experienced hurt, rejection, and turmoil, but Jesus is bringing wonderful healing into their lives through the love of the people who take care of them each day. The children feel safe, secure, and loved, and in this atmosphere they are blossoming.

The children learn that God is their Father and that they can speak to him about anything. They pray for their birth parents. Some of their parents have even become Christians, turned their lives around, and have even been reunited with their children. They pray to be adopted; they pray for their school, their future, etc.. God has given these children a hope and a future.

Mimi Gatea writes, "The process of taking care of an orphan is a life dedication. We need your prayers, God's patience, and His wisdom every day. We can see in our children the future of tomorrow, and we will sacrifice all that it takes to make it happen! For all your help and support, we are forever thankful."