Bob, Buziaş, and Blessing

Bob standing on the drivers side of his British Landrover

Bob Sumner is a British man with a long history in Romania. We met him through our involvement with a ministry situated just north of Timisoara called River of Life. There situated in a small village called Cornesti, is a storage building for medical equipment donated from England to Romania. He has repeated bringing a trailer full of medical equipment to Romania each year ministering to those in need. We are now partnering with Bob and River of Life bringing blessings to those in need of the loving hand of Christ.

The equipment and trailer Bob brought

Last week Kristi and I had the opportunity to travel along with Bob and two others from England to Buziaş, another village east of Timişoara. There we met Alena, a Romanian woman that has developed a lasting friendship with Bob.

Our Visit with Alena

Alena suffers from paralysis after a tragic car accident. Prior to this visit she asked if it would be possible to be transported to her mother's gravesite. With the help of ramps that Bob supplied and the use our minivan together we were able to transport her.

Watch the video of getting Alena into our van.

Spending time with Bob and his friend here in Romania has been a blessing to us and one in which we have been personally touched to see God’s provisions.

Imagine

Imagine what it would be like to have been born with a disability, have an accident, or condition that is serious enough to cause difficulties moving without help. Now imagine that you have no wheelchair, walker or adaptive equipment to help. You are constantly dependant on another person’s help. All around the world there are people who live their lives only within their homes. To go outside would involve someone carrying them.

A few weeks ago we met Ivan and his wife. A Christian doctor suggested we meet them to see if we could help get them a wheelchair. Over the phone and in person, Ivan’s wife was full of life and greeted us with a huge smile. She led us up the bloc apartment building, into their apartment, and into a living room where Ivan was laying on a sleeper sofa. He also greeted us with a smile and a healthy hand shake. Romanians are well known for their warm hospitality and this family, even with Ivan’s illness, exemplified this as well. After measuring and speaking with them, Steve was able to explain and show some exercises to help strengthen his body.

We returned a few days later to deliver a wheelchair and a bedside commode. After transferring Ivan into the wheelchair he demonstrated his ability to use it well, and then he high tailed it through the hall and into his kitchen, where he looked out the window to the scene below.

His wife offered us all coffee and fruit and we talked about the last time he was able to be in that room of their apartment. It had been six months since his return from the hospital and that whole time he had spent his time confined to the one room, the living room.
What a joy and a blessing to meet this couple and to be apart of God’s plan.