During the fall of 2004, Casa Rebeca, Livada’s first family group home, opened its doors to eleven young children and just a year later we were able to open two more homes, Casa Ana and Casa Nadia, to take in another eighteen children. All these children were rescued from the state orphanage in Ludus. And so for the last four or five years these children have been cared for and loved by our Romanian and American staff. They have attended school and had tutors to help them catch up in school. They have had counselors and therapists who have worked with them, helping them find healing from the deep hurts, abandonment and abuse in their past. They have attended church regularly, participated in Bible Studies and had many invest in their spiritual lives, resulting in a number of them coming to faith. And they have lived these years in a safe family home, with hope, and the promise of a future.

The lonas sisters on their first day at Casa Rebeca and at the start of school this year.

As you can imagine it has been an incredible blessing to watch these little children heal, grow and mature and to have had so many of you take part in this process through your prayers, financial contributions, sponsorship and overall support of our ministry. Today, many of these children have grown into teenagers and young adults who are now ready to take the next step as they move toward independence. Three young people have already made the transition from living in one of our family group homes to living in one of our mentor apartments. Several more will follow in their footsteps in the months and years to come. The Mentor Apartment is an excellent next step for these young people as it is here that they learn to plan a budget, prepare their own meals, pay bills, work more independently in school, look for jobs, and learn life skills that will help them in the future. Obviously, the most important component of this experience is the mentor who lives with them... an adult who is several years ahead of them in life, who can be their teacher, guide, counselor, friend and role model during these transitional years.

Elis and Simona with their mentor and friend Gabi who will be joined before long by another girl from the houses.

Adi, Cornel and Marian when they were “little Kids”

 Marian with his mentor along with Cornel and Adi who will soon ioin them in their apartment.

As our little children continue to grow into young adults, we see a shift beginning to take place. We will have fewer children in the family group homes and more moving into mentor apartments. This summer will see the consolidation of our three houses into two as several of the older teens move on to the mentor apartments - the next step in our program. We will continue to have two homes on the same property with about 12 children in each house. The leadership, moms, educators and children are all in the midst of preparations for this move. We want to be wise stewards of the resources that God has provided and we look toward the future with open eyes and open hearts as we respond to the changing needs of the young people in our care.

Please continue to pray for all of our children, young adults, house staff, mentors and those leading each area of ministry as we walk through the next step of growth and change. Pray for the children who will be living with new “brothers and sisters” in the family group homes and for the young people who will be learning so much more about what it means to combine freedom and responsibility in our mentor apartment ministry. Pray for God to continue to bless the ministry of Livada and provide daily bread for all those entrusted to our care.

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