Instead of wedding favors, they gave the money to two suffering children

They are the ones who have a pure heart and do not allow the pain to harden them, to change them. Their souls shine with kindness, love and generosity. They are rich. Because their wealth is seen in the soul and not in the material goods they may have. When you meet such people, you can not help but admire them…

Ioanna and Stelios are a young couple from Larnaca. They get married on Sunday, October 1, and instead of handing out chocolates at their wedding, they raised the money they would give and offered it to little Maria Stavridi, who suffers from a rare disease and needs to be transported to Israel for surgery. They also decided to help little Lambros Kallenos.  

A big thumbs up to this wonderful couple. These people are a shining example for everyone to follow!

Stelios mentions in ant1iwo:
"Ioanna and I have been together for 5 years. Before deciding on a wedding date…
 We thought, a part of the money of our wedding, to give it to some of our fellow human beings who need it. When we recently read the report about little Maria Stavridi, we were very moved and decided to give a sum to the little girl but also to another little boy whose story we heard a few days later, Lambros Kallenos. In fact, we decided to give a card to our guests that explains why we do not have chocolates and the account number for each child so that if they want, they can help. I wish we could help more!
  We went through hard times, like any human being. But we learned how much power prayer and love hide. How important it is to fight for the people next to you. "Man is like an empty sack without his religion and without helping his fellow man."   

Ioanna mentions in ant1iwo:
"A health problem brought us closer to God… 
In 2013 I was diagnosed with cancer. I went through the worst moments of my life. The shock was so great that I did not know how to handle it, I did not want to see anyone and I closed myself. 
Shortly before I finished the chemotherapy, Stelios - we had a relationship then - was constantly praying for me and we were getting a lot of strength from the church. At one point, he talked about me to a nun. I will never forget what she said to him: "Our Lady spoke and Ioanna is fine". A few days later, the axle I made was spotless. It was truly unbelievable, where I almost lost all hope, God stayed by my side.  
Later came another test. With God's help I did it again. Everything went well and God sent us a wonderful baby. 
At the Holy Monastery of Panagia Pantanassa in Kotsiati, we experienced our strongest moments, we said our biggest prayers and everything in our life went well. But I also thank my family, relatives and friends who were always by my side. 

Stelios taught me how…

 When you want something, you have to ask God and He always listens to you. But we must also help our fellow human beings, only then can we become truly happy. "