Ordinary Miracles, Part 2
by Matt Gibble
But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts. 2nd Corinthians 3: 2-3 (New Living Translation)
In January we featured Ioana (Ee-wah`-nuh) as our “living letter” to show God’s faithfulness in performing “ordinary miracles” in the lives of our children. It occurred to us that many of you may not know too much about Ioana, so we asked former Global Hope missionary Matt Gibble, to give us a little background!
While Ioana was still in her mother’s womb, the doctors discovered that she had a spinal disorder. For reasons that only her mother truly knows, she left Ioana in a local orphanage in Arad. Three years later, her Aunt Lia decided to care for her. She took the three year old home, taught her to walk and talk, and raised her. But when Ioana reached 10 years of age, Lia felt that she had done all that she could. She feared that if she didn’t find help, Ioana would regress in regard to her disability.
That’s when she contacted Romica Iuga, president of Global Hope in Romania. Romica called me, as our family was serving in Arad at the time with the children of the Global Hope. Below is a journal entry from the day I went to meet Ioana for the first time.
May 26, 2004 – Arad, Romania – Oh, Lord, thank you for calling me away yesterday to meet this young girl face to face. Her name is Ioana and she is just ten-years-old. When I saw her walk into Romi’s living room her face was bright and shining. It was like her heart was jumping through her eyes, her smile, and her joyful face. I just wanted to embrace her. She waddles more than walks. She ambulates along using the momentum of her limbs. She has an S curve scoliosis due to her disorder. I asked her Aunt Lia what Ioana likes to do. She said that she likes to talk a lot! She is coming by the House of Hope on Friday at 3:00 to meet the children and staff.
As I paged through the next few days of my journal I saw much prayer, questioning and seeking of God’s will. Ioana had a substantial disability and would require much assistance from our staff, and patience on the part of the children. This would be yet another challenge for all of us. We had no idea how we might do any more for this girl than Lia was already doing, but we felt that God had put her in our path for a reason.
That summer Ioana made trips to visit her soon to be “siblings” at the House of Hope. She spent a few nights there and went to church with the children. In the autumn of 2004 she came to stay permanently.
I remember when she went on vacation for the first time with the other children. They went to a salt mine–a national tourist attraction and resort on the eastern side of Romania. They made the long drive which took them through mountains 6,000 feet high, which are quite high considering Arad sits at roughly 300 feet above sea level. When the children returned home, Ioana was ecstatic. She told my wife, Pam, that it was the first time in her life that she had seen mountains (for she had never made such a trip out of Arad before)!
As the days went by, Ioana adapted to her new life. She struggled with her school work. Her disability, combined with life at the House of Hope served as a bit of a double whammy. Educationally, she simply lagged behind the other children her age. While she liked being at the House, she became frustrated with the kids who didn’t always have the patience to wait for her as she struggled to keep up with them. I remember how often she sat on the ground, stuck out her lower lip, pouted, and then cried in frustration.
While Pam and I were still in Romania we took Ioana to a health clinic in Dezna, some 80 kilometers outside of Arad. For a period of a few weeks they worked with her in physical therapy. But progress was slow and we were at a loss about how to help her. We were told that she was too young at that time to have surgery to correct her spine.
In autumn of 2005, my family (Pam, Ben and I) returned to America, but our hearts were still with the children, and especially with Ioana. In early 2007, I wrote a devotional for mission teams in order to prepare them spiritually for mission service. On Ioana’s page, I encouraged them to pray for several things:
Prayers for Ioana: For the chance of a successful surgery for her back. For diligence in her studies at school. For the patience of her siblings who have to occasionally slow down for her.
Over the subsequent months and years we prayed consistently for Ioana, and for her much needed surgery. Then, in the summer of 2008, Romica Iuga met a doctor from Vienna who agreed to perform the surgery. The doctor would absorb as much of the cost as he could, but a sizeable amount of money remained to be raised.
On August 21, 2008, Global Hope missionary Sarah Davis, posted this update on her website:
Ioana’s upcoming operation in Vienna is a need that is pressing on our hearts and minds right now. We are still trying to raise the funds to pay for her surgery. We are also spending a great deal of time in thought and prayers as this surgery will most certainly affect her life in the coming months and years. The surgery on her spine will help to correct her scoliosis but it will demand a long, difficult healing process. She will use a wheelchair and will probably be pulled out of school for the year. Please pray for Ioana. This time will demand the will-power of an Olympic athlete as she will have to work through pain and many hours of therapy. Please pray for her fears. She may be mature in many ways, but she is truly just a little girl and this surgery would be intimidating and difficult even for adults. Please pray for the doctors and please pray for us as we try to prepare, help and encourage her.
After five years of seeking God through prayer, Ioana was wheeled into the operating room in November of 2008 – twice! Her surgeries were successful and she was walking by the time she left the hospital in Vienna. We thank God for what Romica did in arranging this surgery. Another staff member in Romania, Ana Gavrila, also traveled to Austria to help Ioana, and was instrumental in the time immediately following the surgery.
A few weeks after Ioana returned home to the House of Hope, I called her to see how she was doing. As I talked to her I could hear her smile on the telephone. She was bubbly and full of energy. Her spirit is truly infectious! She was, and still is, undergoing physical therapy and managing to walk. In fact she told me that the next time I see her she will be running! It was so good to talk to her and catch up. She has missed a lot of school due to the surgery and still needs many prayers.
In recent months there have been some real hurdles for Global Hope, due to the global economic crisis. But I know this and absolutely believe this: God does not desert the children of Global Hope. We have a God who answers prayers. Many people have prayed for Ioana in the last five years, for her well being. God found a way to make happen what seemed nearly impossible. I thank God for that, and for all of you who continue to bless the beautiful children of Global Hope. Thank you!