A week with the Bakersfield Team

This has been a great (if tiring) week. The team from Bakersfield came with five football players and two coaches to play soccer with the orphanage boys. Every afternoon they would go out to a field and play hard, they would come back to the ministry center exhausted but what an impact. There are pictures of the boys (all of them) tearing up on the last day when they had to say good-bye. It is so important for these boys to see that they can be strong men and love Jesus at the same time. Inimi Deschise really needs more of this influence and it was so refreshing to see. But, the Bakersfield team was not all boys. There were also six (I think) girls and a teacher from BC who came to talk to the girls about beauty on the inside. we would come to the ministry center in the afternoon and make purses and do hair and nails and make-up, then the girls would talk about how even though it is fun to feel pretty on the outside, God cares about what is on the inside and He thinks that we are all beautiful because that is how He made us. I loved taking part in this and I really think that some live were touched , both American and Romanian.

On a personal level, this was a hard week. I got sick on Wednesday and even though I completed the day, I'm afraid I wasn't much use, I felt better physically on Thursday but was faced with an emotional hardship. Kristina was an intern who has been here for a year and she is such a beautiful person. She has a great heart for kids, especially those with disabilities and she has spent almost every morning there for the past year. In only a year, it is so obvious how she has made an impact on those around her and her departure on Thursday was hard even though I have only known her for three weeks. It is a big comfort that she will come back because Inimi Deschise is the perfect place for her to use the gifts God has given her.

So that was my week, some prayer requests would be that preparations for camp would be just what was needed and for the health of everyone on staff. 

la multi ani!

Everyone say Happy Birthday to my mom!!!

New team

This will be a short posting as I have to leave for the Rehab center soon. By the way, I am sorry there have been so few photos of orphanage time but I have been spending a lot of time at Rehab and pictures aren't allowed. This last week was very restful, and we needed it after the Shafter team left. We took a day off for ministry on Wednesday to go to the graduations of Luta and Victor who both graduated with a Sociology degree, it was a big accomplishment for them both and we are all very proud of them. The Bakersfield team arrived on Friday, praise God for safe travel! The boys on the team will be playing soccer with the boys and the girls on the team will be spending time with girls and younger children. I will continues to go to Rehab on Mondays, Wednesday, and Friday in the mornings. It should be an exciting week!

The end of week one (and a half)

I feel so much more settled in now and I am LOVING my time here. It is nice not to be in a fog of jet lag (I almost fell asleep during church last week, I felt like my dad). The Shafter team has been here all week and I really enjoyed getting to know those I didn't know so well. The projects they brought with them were fun too. The girls at Chitila (an all girls orphanage) had a great time doing a dance routine for the music video and so did kids from an apartement who came to the center. I have to say though. My favorite time was at number seven (an older co-ed orphanage with a bit of a crazy reputation). We brought the trampoline and had a center for dying or painting t-shirts. I was in my element of Romanian and I was able to give directions about how and were to put rubberbands on t-shirts and and what color to dye them in. Honestly, I was trying to avoid the dying center as I still have pink fingernails from the t-shirt making at Chitila, but I am so glad that God put me there because my confidence in my speaking abilities must have gone up ten points and I cant wait to try out my language skills again on Monday. I will have language lessons with Florina on Tuesday and Thrusday and a new team is coming on Friday. Everyone has Friday off as a rest day after this team and we might go to Brosauv (I totally spelled that wrong) on Friday or Saturday and on the other day we are going to prepare a meal to hand out to street people. I am looking froward to another great week and I am feeling great! By the way, I downloaded all the pictures I have taken since I have been there and you can see them if you follow the link. I have pictures from the Rehab trip to the park and our Saturday outings to the park at Aviatorilor and to Sanai as well as other random pictures. Enjoy!

Sunday

hey everyone, i have been in Romania for days now and and getting settled in and comfortable. on Friday we went to the Rehab orphanage and I got to hold the little ones and we talked and sang with some of the older ones (all girls). Then we went back to the center to plan for camp in the afternoon. That will be really fun and I am excited about it. Yesterday we went walking around a huge park. It took almost four hours to traverse the whole thing, but it was beautiful and so worth it. The Shafter team arrived safely and I saw them after I got back from the International church today. Sorry there aren't any pictures yet I forgot my USB cord at the apartment so I will try to come and upload them as soon as I can.

Arrival

I am here safe in Romania. It is the end of my first day of ministry. Inimi Deschise helped to put on a kind of party for kids from the summer day cares in Sector 2. If anyone has heard, I had an eventful plane ride. I threw up once on the way to Denver and once on the way to Munich, but I feel better now and have been eating well. I will post some pictures later. Thank you for your prayers.

The day before the plane ride.

I feel so excited right now, (and a little nervous). I turned 18 today and I am doing some last minute errands and packing. everything seems to be falling into place. My duffel bag to carry the keyboard came today and that was a big answer to prayer. I can't wait to get started in Romania and my next post will be from there!