Shelter of Care Praises and Prayers Page - Shelter of Care is a Christian organization helping orphaned and abandoned Romanian children make the transition to independent living. Based in Romania, in the city of Iasi (pronounced Yash), the charity runs childrens' clubs in orphanages, provides homes for young people leaving the orphanage, runs an annual summer camp for orphan girls, and is aiming to open a counseling and resource center. Shelter of Care is supported by American and British sponsors and is run in Romania by Genuta and Sorin Erhan. Copyright Becky White.

Praises & Prayers

October 2008
16th Oct-5th Nov - Sorin, Genuţa and Becky will all be traveling to England during this period. This will be an opportunity to meet with Shelter of Care's supporters there, and explore options for the future of our work. Genuta and Sorin will also be returning to the Ellel Grange center, where they received their Christian counseling training last year, to work as counselors at a weekend retreat.

1st Oct - Please pray for our older clients who are returning to university this month, and especially for Crenguţa (Katy) who is beginning the first year of her studies in sports science.

September 2008
We had a wonderful time with Julie and Barbara from the US at the end of August. They enjoyed catching up with some young people they have known for years, as well as meeting a lot of new ones. Please pray for our children as they return to school on September 15th.

August 2008
Our two-week summer program at Project Amos was a great success, with the help of a dedicated team of English volunteers. More details will soon be available on the website, and in the August newsletter.

July 2008
1st July - Genuţa has been asked to serve on the Coaliţia Pentru Dezvoltare Urbana, a five-member committee formed to promote closer working relationships between Christian social care organizations working in Iaşi. See our latest newsletter for more information.

June 2008
15th June - Becky will be travelling to England on June 19th, and staying until June 30th.

11th June - Our key project for the first half of this year - the internet safety course for teens - is near completion, and will soon be trialled with a small number of Project Amos clients prior to going live online. We have also confirmed a team of volunteers from England who are going to run a two-week summer project at the Project Amos center at the end of July.

May 2008
26th May - Elaine Matthes, co-founder of Shelter of Care is visiting us from the States this week. Please pray that this trip will be a blessing to her, and to us here in Romania.
Meanwhile, supporters at UPC in Seattle held a sarmale (cabbage roll) sale at their church one Sunday morning recently to raise funds for Shelter of Care! Thanks to everyone who was involved in that project - it sounds like a lot of fun!

Things are moving along in the Project Amos office. We have received donated tables, chairs and computers from England, and these are all now being put to good use.

As the summer approaches, we are preparing for visitors. We welcomed Derek and Linda McCulloch and Godfrey Cook from Newbold Baptist Church at the end of April (read details in April's newsletter), and we are looking forward to a visit from Elaine Matthes, co-founder of Shelter of Care at the end of May. Please pray for Elaine as she prepares to make that long trip from the US.

March 2008
27th March - Internet and telephone connections for the office are finally in place!

6th March - February was a busy month as we stepped up our work both in the Project Amos office and at Tatarasi orphanage - see our latest newsletter for more information about our new projects. We are thankful for the new opportunities opening up to us.

On a practical note, we would value your prayers regarding the completion of our office setup. The internet and telephone connection, and the delivery of a new computer we ordered are all being frustrated by delays. Also, we are awaiting a shipment of computers and furniture from Newbold Baptist Church in England, via Link Romania. Please pray that all this equipment arrives safely, and that the delivery schedule can be organized without difficulties.

February 2008
11th Feb - We give thanks for a very successful day on Saturday with the girls. We had a lovely time catching up, sharing some photographs from last summer's camp and explaining Project Amos to them. Several of the girls were very interested in coming regularly to the center for English lessons, which we hope to start very soon.

6th Feb - The Project Amos offices are now cleaned up, partially furnished and ready to go. We will have our first group of young people up to the Project on Saturday 9th February for an introductory session. We have invited several of the girls we took on camp last summer who live in an apartment together. Please pray for us all on this day.

January 2008
We start the new year full of excitement as we prepare for the opening of Project Amos. Currently we are purchasing office equipment for our base. Thank you to all of you who have donated money to help towards the cost of this - we are grateful for every donation.

We also are pleased to unveil some recent changes to our website which should make navigation a little easier.

on this page

archive 2007

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Praises and Prayers Archive 2007

December 2007
After an extensive search, we have manage to secure a wonderful office suite for our new city-based resource for young people, Project Amos. More details here.

September 2007
This is a busy month as the follow up program from summer camp continues with children at Tatarasi and Bucium, and the seven girls living in the apartment and Children's club restarts at Bucium after the summer break. We are currently awaiting permits to begin work with abandoned babies in the children's hospital; please pray that these permits are granted quickly.

Shelter of Care has a new full time volunteer in Romania. Becky White has been coming with a team of British volunteers to summer camp for several years, and is now living in Iasi, working for the project. Please pray for her as she settles into her new role.

August 2007
We took 20 girls to summer camp at Muncel this year - 16 of these girls were new to all of us. We had a great time and forged many new relationships. Please pray for us as we continue our follow up work with these girls. Read the full camp report here.

May 2007
Sorin and Genuta are travelling to England this month to begin a ten-week training course at Ellel Ministries. Please pray that this training will be God's best for them at this time, and also pray for the girls and the work of Shelter of Care while they are away for so long.

April 2007
The dates and venue for Summer Camp 2007 have been booked!

February 2007
Our online donations facility is working well, and we praise God for the finances that are being provided in this way. Our PayPal account is looking more and more healthy! You can try the system for yourself on our home page.

January 2007
Please pray for us as we continue to make plans for the design and building of the counseling center. We are delighted to have been able to pay the balance of the land, but we still have a lot to do before we are able to begin the building project. We are currently taking advice from a local architect to help us to determine the right building designs, and to give us a realistic costing.

Praises and Prayers Archive 2006

December 2006 - Having taken the difficult decision to sell the empty transition apartment to raise funds to pay for the land at Barnova, we praise God for a speedy sale at a good price. The money raised by this sale will pay the outstanding balance on the land and also enable us to begin landscaping and other essential preparations in the spring. Shelter of Care takes this opportunity to thank everybody who donated money to buy the apartment. God has richly multiplied your generosity.

November 2006 - Counseling training for Romanian volunteers continues as a team from England travels to Iasi.

October 2006 - Genuta and Sorin Erhan will be in England for three weeks at the end of October and beginning of November, visiting friends and supporters of Shelter of Care. Please pray for a safe, productive and enjoyable trip.

September 2006 - Children's club at Bucium begins again after the summer break.

August 2006 - 23rd - We give praise and thanks to God for so many answered prayers as we held our summer camp this year. We had a wonderful time, wonderful weather, wonderful relationships. Despite the security alerts surrounding international air travel, God brought all our volunteers safely out to Romania and back home again. To find out more about the camp, read our Camp Report.

July 2006 - 25th - We will be leaving for Summer Camp with 22 girls from Bucium and Tatarasi on Wednesday 2nd August. Please pray for safe journeys, good weather and open hearts so the girls will receive the teaching. Also pray that the girls from the two different orphanages will quickly establish good relationships with each other.

18th - Volunteers for the summer have begun arriving in Iasi - Marcia from the US and Becky from England fly in on July 18th, and other teams will follow in the next few weeks. Please pray for safe journeys and hassle-free travel for all these visitors.

June 2006 - Please pray for the sale of Shelter of Care's original piece of land. The proceeds for this sale are needed to help to pay the balance on the new piece of land where the counseling center will be built.

May 2006 - 26th - Derek and Linda McCulloch from Rochdale, England, head out to Iasi to begin a week-long visit which will include delivering an intensive Introduction to Christian Counselling course to eight Romanian volunteers. This will hopefully be the first step in identifying and training Christian counselors for the future Counseling Center.

April 2006 - 8th - A price has been agreed for the purchase of a large area of land near Iasi where the new counseling center will be built! Praise God for this. Click here for pictures.

March 2006 - 29th - The venue for Summer Camp 2006 is booked.

17th - Shelter of Care's license has been successfully renewed by the Child Protection Authority, granting leave to continue work for at least the next three years. Praise God for His help in getting past this significant hurdle.

5th - Supporters in the UK hold a car boot sale to raise funds for Shelter of Care. £200 is raised.

February 2006 - 17th - Please pray for guidance for Sorin and Genuta as they continue to search for the perfect land for the counseling center. The search is continuing in the areas around Iasi, including the village of Paun.