I had the priviledge to host the five boys that are currently in the Boys Transition Program here at the team house during the first week of Christmas vacation. This is an occasion that is always full of those moments where I'm reminded how much "normal" life our kids miss out on growing up in the orphanage.
When they arrived we had the tree up and presents under the tree, and I expected them to be curious and go check out who the presents were for. They didn't. Even when prompted, there wasn't much of an interest. I was reminded that if you've never had a present under the tree before, you wouldn't know what to be excited for. To be the one of the ones that got to shop, pick out gifts, wrap presents, fill stockings, all to provide a family Christmas for these boys was my Christmas present this year. By Christmas morning the excitement had heightened, but we did have to explain what they were supposed to do with a stocking. It was a very fun day!
In a special addition to the day, we were joined by Grant and Riley from Nevada. Grant was able to obtain a large donation from Patagonia of clothing and some backpacks for H2H. This donation was put on our shipping container and Grant and Riley were with us Christmas morning to see the boys unwrap some of those items. Do you want to guess how many backpacks were in this donation that was made months before we started this generation of boys? Exactly 5--the number of boys in the program. I'm so glad that God has all of the details in His large, capable, hands!
We tried to do something special each day of the vacation with the boys. One day we went to look at the Christmas lights in the city.
We also went Christmas caroling. My favorite part of the evening was seeing Florin, the young man that I would have pegged as the least likely to get into caroling, singing with all of his heart and a huge smile on his face.
They also got to go ice skating, to a movie, participated with the church Christmas program, played soccer with the kids at Peris and visited the baby hospital. The hospital was another surprise for me. The boys insisted that they got to go and visit the babies, and they were amazing with them! Not only did it show us a soft side of all of the guys, but it led to an amazing discussion of why parents abandon their children and the importance of forgiveness.
When the team arrived, we moved the boys out of the team house to the Snagov house. They slept there, but participated in the daily events of the team. They went daily to the orphanages and helped hand out Christmas presents. It was a great experience for them to see other orphanages and to see that there are so many children with needs and problems out there. It was so fun to watch them connect and pass on love!
On their last evening with the team, we put them on the hot seat and let them share highlights of their experiences. All of them expressed gratitude for the time. Florin said it helped increase his faith. Vasile said that he understood now what it meant to have a family Christmas.
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