It all started on Dec. 22nd 2003.
In the early evening we -my husband and I- arrive at Sfintul Lazar, the first and main house of Concordia, where Ruth Zenkert, Director of Concordia and Pater Georg Sporschill, founder of this humanitarian organisation in the nineties have invited us to join their community for their evening prayer.
It is about 6.30 pm. The time when all the kids have to be back (provided they want to get a meal and spend the night here) from wherever they spent their day: at work, school, or for the majority here in the main house, simply on the street, which for many of them still means more of a home than even Sfintul Lazar, where they get food, lodging, warmth and protection, basic elements of any "normal childlife".
In a long, overfilled hall we are welcomed by about a hundred kids, clustered around some thick candles arranged on firtree branches on the floor and waiting in twilight and silence for prayers to begin. Their age ranges from four to adult age. The smaller ones are sitting on the laps of the older ones.
All through the prayers - bible reading and songs followed by a personal prayer by each child, there is a stunning atmosphere of recollection, peace, love and unity floating in the air. We are soon to hear that this is the only moment of the day which gives Ruth strength and courage to go on doing what she has been doing for the last 15 years: fighting day and night, seven days a week to cope with the problems of their some 500 children scattered over two dozens of homes in and around Bucharest, trying to give them back their stolen childhood.
After prayers, we are brought into another room where the children from Sfintul Ignatiu´s house -a dozen altogether- sing for us with Mihaela, their 24 years young "mother", the most beautiful Christmas songs (in Romanian: Colinde ) we have ever heard. Within minutes they conquer our heart and I know already: I will have to see them again...
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