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Peles Castle, Romania

Gospel hope and healing for children from hard places in Romania

Mission

To share the Gospel hope of salvation in Jesus, Christ’s love, and Occupational Therapy with children from hard places in Romania, for the glory of God. 

"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live

should no longer live for themselves but for him

who died for them and was raised again."

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (ESV)

Image by Jaromír Kavan

Children from hard places

in Romania can experience intense neglect

that often leaves life-altering scars.

The effects of the poverty, deprivation, and abuse that they face can have far-reaching effects. Other children have developmental delays for different reasons but do not have access to help. Children are resilient but, without specialized intervention, the devastating outcomes from the difficulties they face can remain with them, making it difficult to manage emotions, control behaviors, learn, attend to tasks, live independently, engage in activities 

with coordination, get and keep a job, stay

physically well, and form and maintain 

healthy relationships.

Happy Girl in Nature

Failure to Thrive

Poor Self-Regulation 

Cognitive Delays and Poor Focus

Sensory Processing Disorder

Physical Development and Coordination

Delays

Delays in Social and Play Skills

Growing Up in Hard Places Can Lead to...

The Gospel Need

Image by Jon Tyson

As we all do, children from hard places and their families need the Good News (Gospel) that although we are all sinners, breaking God's commandments, separated from God by our sins, and deserving of Hell, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to rescue us and to reconcile us to God through His death and resurrection. We can receive this salvation when we repent and believe in the work of Christ on our behalf and make Him Lord of our lives. Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Therapy helps the body, brain, and functioning of a child but our only hope for true change in this life, and for everlasting life in Heaven with God, is the Gospel. My prayer is to be able to show the sacrificial love of Christ in the work that I do and to share the Gospel as part of my regular interactions with the children and their families.

The Need for Occupational Therapy 

Occupational Therapy provides specialized interventions to help children heal, learn new skills, and overcome the effects of trauma, neglect, or other causes of delayed development. 

Child Playing

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Occupational Therapists specialize in brain and body development and use engaging, individualized motor activities to fill in gaps in development in order help children grow and function well in life.

Occupational Therapists' use of play-based, relationship-focused sensory activities, undergirded by rhythm, allows a reconnection to the body, which facilitates healing for nervous systems affected by trauma.

BODY-BASED TRAUMA HEALING

Happy Boy

Occupational Therapists specialize in improving sensory processing for better day-to-day living. Many individuals from hard places struggle with over-responding to or needing extra sensory input (touch, movement, muscle and joint use, sound). These challenges lead to other difficulties, like trouble being still, hugging too tightly, meltdowns, and so on.

SENSORY PROCESSING

Despite the presence of university programs in other types of therapy, there are only a few recently-developed programs to train Occupational Therapists in Romania, leaving the country in need of OTs to help its children heal and gain skills.

LACK OF OTs IN
ROMANIA

The Need for Occupational Therapy

Ministry Partners

Children in the After School program, teachers, and FFR leadership

Firm Foundations Romania serves the Roma (Gypsy) community in and near Brasov through after school educational and Gospel-centered programs, with clothing and supply distribution, and by holding babies in the hospital.

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Calvary Redeeming Grace exists to make joyful, passionate disciples of Jesus Christ as we make Christ non-ignorable in Lakewood and to the ends of the earth.

Image by Atik sulianami

Cord Ministries, International serves strategic partnerships in Gospel-centered ministry by exploring, refining and sharing solutions for challenges in ministry.

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