Published by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, October 29, 2004 Newsletter from Floyd Frantz, OCMC Missionary

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), St. Augustine, FL - The following is a letter from Floyd Frantz, OCMC Missionary in Romania to his supporters. Floyd has worked for several years to establish substance abuse treatment programs in Romania. Prior to his arrival, there were few, if any, programs in existence to address problems of addiction.

Dear Friends,

I hope that this newsletter finds you well and in good spirits. Here in Cluj it is starting to cool off quite a lot, with some rain and temperatures in the 60's & 70's. Not bad for the fall, but it looks like an early winter in Romania.

The new day-center of the St. Dimitrie Program is about ready to open and be blessed by His Grace Vasile, Bishop of Vad, Feleac and Cluj. We have been working on this center for about four months, and everyone is very happy that it is ready for operation. Probably 60% of the people in our recovery groups are unemployed, and having a community day-center for support on the days that they cannot find day work will be very helpful in their struggle to maintain sobriety.

One other bit of news is that the St. Paul Center in Bistrita is scheduled to open at the end of October. We have been training their staff as part of a partnership with the Bistrita County Council, and we helped them get the grant so we feel a part of the program. We are excited about their day-center program, and believe that the alcoholics in recovery who live in the area will benefit greatly. Both the St. Dimitrie and the St. Paul programs are for people who are in recovery from alcoholism or addictions. They provide places where people can come for support in getting off alcohol or drugs. Of course, we are offering family support programs as well. The staff will be visiting the local psychiatric hospital and the tuberculosis hospital to work with the many alcoholics in those institutions.

The program in Bistrita is a model of the St. Dimitrie Program in Cluj. Like the St. Dimitrie Program, some of their staff members are in recovery. They are using the "bio-psycho-social-spiritual" model, meaning that they address the needs of the "whole person". And of course, we treat alcoholism as a disease in itself, and not just a symptom of another disorder. We are also hosting 12-Step groups, and are open to all who are interested and have need of such programs.

We could not be doing this work without your continued prayers and financial support, and we are most grateful to you for helping us to do this work.

May God bless you greatly for your blessing of our work!

In His Love,

One day at a time,

Floyd               

To learn more about Floyd Frantz, read more of his newsletters, and meet more OCMC Missionaries please go to www.ocmc.org. To help support Floyd Frantz, checks can be sent to the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, PO Box 4319, St. Augustine, FL, 32085-4319. Please note “Floyd Frantz” in the memo section. To contact the Mission Center call 1-877-GO-FORTH(463-6784) or email at missions@ocmc.org.

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center: Helping Orthodox Christians respond to Christ's call to preach, teach, baptize, minister to the poor and make disciples of all nations as the official international mission agency of SCOBA.