It was election year in the villages, so Ionut received a very
tiny parcel of land. It had been used by the people to dump their trash, but he cleaned it off and leveled the land
so he can put his foundation there. We took him and spent all of the money someone had sent to him for his house.
We were able to get the cement and all the other things so that he can put his foundation down. He will do the work
himself, but must hire another man to help him who knows what to do. It is going to take at least $5,000 for Ionut to
build a small one room house. All the cost of living, including building materials, has skyrocketed and we pay the same
prices (and sometimes higher) that we have to pay here in the USA. Ionut is happy that he has been able to start his
little house. He will work on it as he has the money and is trying to use as much as he can from his meager salary.
He works in a shoe factory. He leaves his village by foot each morning at 5:00 a.m. He walks to another village
and catches a bus to the city. The village he lives in is quite a long way from the city. This is the village
where his parents were from, so it is the only place he is eligible to receive a piece of land.
When he finishes work each day at 4:00 p.m., he hitch hikes back to the village,
or sometimes if he has the money, he will take the bus. With his salary, he has to give some of it to whoever he is
staying with. None of his relatives are Christians and all are poor and very selfish and only look out for themselves.
The village is extremely poverty stricken because there is no work except in the city.
When Ionut gets his house finished, we have a mattress, small table, stool and
cabinet for him to put his clothes in. Right now, he has no place to put these things and anything we give him will
be stolen from him by whoever he stays with. I have known Ionut since he was 7 years old. He was raised in orphanages
in Romania and during the summers, I used to bring him to wherever I was staying in the country. He and his siblings
were abandoned at birth and even though he has tried to get close to his parents, they want nothing to do with him.
Both are alcoholics and are extremely mean people.
Ionut finished his house in the fall of 2008. Praise the Lord that through
the generosity of others, he had his house built before the winter weather arrived.
IONUT - Standing where his house will be.
