Iustina’s Fight for Life

Let’s Help Iustina Have a Future
Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
Psalm 28:6

On April 26, Iustina Lăcrămioara Ciurcu will turn 12 years old.
She is the eldest child in her family, with two younger brothers, Casian and Nicolas. Her parents, Laura and Costel, faced many hardships growing up in a children’s care center. But now, they do their best to provide a home for their children in a small, rented apartment furnished with only the essentials for daily life.

Despite their struggles, Iustina is a bright and hopeful child. She dreams of one day becoming a pediatrician to help sick children and bring kindness into their lives. She loves school, especially art class, where she loves to paint landscapes, and enjoys learning Romanian and even a little English.

But at the beginning of 2025, Iustina’s peaceful world was turned upside down.

A cherished tradition in Romania is for the children to go caroling during the holiday season, receiving sweets as gifts. After enjoying too many treats, Iustina suddenly lost consciousness. She was rushed by ambulance from her hometown to Vatra Dornei, then to Câmpulung, and finally to the Regional Emergency Children’s Hospital in Iași. Her condition became critical, and after extensive tests, doctors delivered a devastating diagnosis—Type 2 diabetes.

For any child, this disease is a heavy burden. But for a family struggling to make ends meet, it is overwhelming. Social services, hospitals, and child protection agencies were immediately alerted, and at first, there was talk of placing Iustina in a state institution for medical care. However, because Bread of Life was willing to step in and offer full support, Child Protective Services agreed to allow Iustina to stay with her family.

Diabetes requires a strict diet and a carefully balanced routine—something that would have been nearly impossible without help. Through Bread of Life, Iustina now receives nutritional support, tutoring to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor, and a warm, family-like environment where she is loved and cared for. We also work to support her parents, encouraging and equipping them to maintain a healthy relationship with their daughter.


Iustina is fighting for her future. Will you stand with her?

Your support ensures that children like Iustina don’t have to face these battles alone. With your help, we can continue to provide food, education, medical support, and hope for children in desperate situations.


Please consider making a gift today --because every child deserves a chance to dream.


Dorin Ciocan,

Children’s Pastor BOL Home

Thank you for your interest in Bread of Life Ministries. We have been able to accomplish a lot with the help of our supporters around the world. There is still more for us to do. Please prayerfully consider how you might help support Bread of Life as we provide support to children and families in need.

Become A Partner

Other articles you may be interested in

Child with shoebox gift

The Joy Giving Brings

By BOL Team • September 24, 2026
There is something special about watching a child open a Christmas gift.  I have had the privilege of watching children receive Christmas shoeboxes many times over the years, but the excitement never gets old. A carefully wrapped box lands in their hands, and suddenly the air fills with anticipation and curiosity. Then you see smiles that seem to grow bigger with every item they discover. For some of these children, receiving a gift is not something they expect. They didn't earn it. They didn't do anything to deserve it. Someone they may never meet chose to give because they wanted that child to experience the joy of Christmas. Perhaps that is one reason these moments touch me so deeply.

The Story Behind the BOL Christian Center

By BOL Team • September 24, 2026
What Is the BOL Christian Center? Some dreams start small. Ours started as an impossible one — a home in Bucharest where teenagers from broken, poverty stricken backgrounds could finally have a stable place to live, grow, and become who God made them to be. 

From Hopelessness to a Purpose and Direction in Life

By Luminita Panican BOL -YTP Coordinator • September 24, 2026
At the beginning of the journey, the word that best described these kids was helplessness. When you start life in an environment shaped by severe hardship, the future feels less like a promise and more like a threat. For the five young people in our community who graduated high school this summer, the starting line was a painful one. Behind their eyes lay realities too heavy for any child to carry: a girl who had to find her courage within an abusive family, and boys who grew up without the warm embrace of a mother. For them, education and finishing school seemed like a distant dream.