The Daniela Ministry Story

The Daniela Ministry was established as a memorial to Daniela Bistriceanu, whose life was unexpectedly taken in a tragic accident. Daniela's love for Christ was reflected in her love for her family, friends, and children. It is out of this spirit of love and service to others that the Daniela Ministry has been established to aid the many needy families and children of Romania.

Daniela Bistrieceanu was born in Bucharest Romania on April 14th 1984. She was the second in what would be George and Niculina Bistriceanu's large, loving family. Like any child, she was beautiful, sweet and loved.

Yet unlike other Romanian children, Daniela would have a chance most would not have. When she was 3 her parents left Romania and came to the United States. In the U.S. Daniela and her family flourished. In many ways a typcial teenager, Daniela fit easily into American culture. Daniela's love for all God's creations made it easy for her to have a positive impact on all she met.

Daniela's love for her family and friends was matched by her love for Christ. Baptized in 1998 at the age of fourteen, Daniela dedicated her life to sharing the love of God with others. She had a special closeness with her older brother Octavian, a love that few brothers and sisters are able to share.

While Daniela was enjoying the blessings of a loving family in a thriving country, the children in Romania were not so lucky. During the years of communist rule Romanians were encouraged to have large families. With the fall of the communist dictatorship came massive unemployment and many families choose to abandon children whom they could not support.

Thousands of these children were turned out to fend for themselves on the streets of Bucharest. Some live in utility tunnels and sewers; others in abandoned buildings and schools. They seek shelter wherever and however they can find it. One of the tragic methods by which they find escape from their bitter lives is by "huffing" which is sniffing chemicals -- a cheap high to avoid the dreary pain of their lives.

These throw-away children are often sexually and physically abused, robbed and treated as human refuse by a society that cannot care for them.

Daniela's father and mother knew of these children and with the help of their congregation in Idaho they began working to get food, clothing and the Christian message of hope to these desperate children. Through diligent hard work, and with God's provision, shoes, warm clothes, food, and an opportunity for Bible study reach many of these lost Romanian children.

Then, on June 21st, 1999 Daniela was returning from volunteer work at an animal shelter when the car in which she was riding left the road and rolled -- ejecting her from the car and returning her to her Heavenly Father. The Bistriceanu family was devastated by the loss of Daniela, but saw the Lord's hand in her untimely passing.

To honor Daniela's memory, they decided the best thing they could do was to keep Daniela's love alive by sharing it with the children of Romania.

Since that time, the Daniela Ministry has provided hundreds of meals to desperate children and families in Romania. Over 10,000 pounds of clothing have been distributed, as well as countless shoes, hats, and coats. Romanian winters are bitter cold and the lack of these basic items can be a death sentence for children living in extreme poverty.

Daniela believed everyone was worthy of God's love and did her best to share that love with everyone she met. If you would like to help keep Daniela's love active in Romania please consider making a contribution to this work.