Belcești, Romania, October 25, 2019
Photo: basilica.ro
Gheorghe and Florica Ciubotaru were worried that they would have to face the Romanian winter in a house that could collapse at any moment, leaving them completely helpless in the cold.
However, thanks to two Romanian parishes—the Church of St. Nicholas in Belceşti in Iași County and the Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen in Straubing, Germany—the elderly couple are now enjoying a brand new home, reports Doxologia.
Gheorge and Florica were overwhelmed when they received their new home on Tuesday, October 22. They had previously depended on the pity and mercy of their fellow villagers to get by, being in a precarious socioeconomic situation.
Last winter, Fr. Andrei Florariu and the parish council of the St. Nicholas Church took the initiative to insulate their old house to save them from the bitter winds and snow that came in through the holes in the roof and walls. Fr. Andrei promised them at that time to build them a new house by the next winter.
Thanks to the efforts of Fr. Andrei and Fr. Vasile Florin Reuț of the parish in Germany and the efforts of their parishioners, the house was completed in time. Though he was far away, in Germany, Fr. Vasile launched an online donations campaign for the Ciubotarus and prayed fervently for the construction of their home.
Photo: basilica.ro
Construction lasted about a month. Fr. Andrei and his parishioners were involved both physically and economically. Once the house was completed, and it was blessed on October 22 with the participation of both Frs. Vasile and Andrei and Fr. Florin Reuţ and a large group of faithful.
Women from the local village helped to decorate and furnish the house the day before. Fr. Florin and his family provided food and equipment for the kitchen.
Earlier this month, OrthoChristian reported that Hadâmbu Monastery, also in Iași County, is building a house for a 10-children family. Additionally, in 2017, Fr. Petru Gavriloaia built and donated a new home to a family with nine children in Timișești, Neamț County. Last year, faithful from the northwestern Romanian villages of Paleu and Oşorhei took up a collection over the course of the previous year to buy a home for a family with 9 children from the nearby village of Parhida.
