Thrive!!

In October I had the privileged to attend the Thrive Retreat. Thrive is an organization that provides support to women who serve on the Mission field. They have different retreats around the world, and this fall they held one in Tallin, Estonia. I'd received their publication for years. It is full of articles that are written by missionary women and found them to be interesting and usually applicable. Through that publication and a few friends that have attended in the past, I'd always thought it would be fun to go. Finally, this fall I was able to attend. Jenny and I were two of the 68 missionaries in attendance from 28 different countries. There were also over 30 women there as volunteers to serve and spoil us in different ways. We had different speakers, small group discussion time, free time, socialization time, worship, prayer time, etc. It was extremely well thought out and organized and as a planner I was impressed at how well thought out and intentional each moment was. My small group how two volunteer leaders and then 6 missionaries. The youngest was 25 and the oldest in her 60s. I had the most time in the field and we were from 5 different countries. It was amazing to meet people so diverse, but yet we had so many things in common that there were instant bonds. We were able to be open and vulnerable with each other and understand each other through many shared and common experiences. I was able to attend a session on Grief and Loss. It was about the amount of loss that missionaries experience. Everything from loss of conveniences and being able to be present at events, to the amount of times you say goodbyes. Some of you may have heard that Jenny, my assistant and my house mate is leaving the field after 16 years. Her departure came quite suddenly so it is a bit of a shock and adjustment. This session for me came at a perfect time. I was also able to talk to a counselor who helped me to see that in my position in the organization I'm always helping others deal with and resolve things. Jenny's departure, for me, can't be resolved logically. I have to allow myself to grieve the loss that it represents. In the afternoon free time I had a massage and a pedicure done by extremely kind women. I also was able to take some long walks and have some time to be alone and journal. It was an amazing time and I'm so grateful for it. My church stepped in and funded this for me and I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity.

Fall Fun

September is also an interesting month for us. It is the transition from summer ministry to fall ministry. We go from getting the kids in vacation to having to work around the school schedule and their academic needs. Figuring out the logistics is an game of dominoes. We can't make our schedules official until the schools have their schedules official. So we are making schedules and figuring out curriculum and waiting for the schools to get their things in place. So we plan, wait, have meetings, adjust, plan, wait, have meetings, adjust. As the director, everyone asks me questions that I can't answer until others make decisions. Balance and patience are the key to the fall! But we made it and the programming is all up and running! Here are a few of the fall highlights: Sanda, one of our Romanian staff and Sandel, one of our Transition Graduates got married. I was asked to help coordinate so it was a busy time, but turned out well. Ruthie turned 9! She's grown up so much in this last year. She is third grade, plays tennis, loves to sing and dance, is a great great big sister. We had two baptisms to celebrate. Marian graduated 3 years from the Boys Transition Program. He's living and working near Bucuresti and attending the church we attend. It was great to see him take this step. Alex also was baptized. He grew up in the Rosiori orphanage but never really attended our programs by his choice. After he came to Bucuresti he stayed close friends with Marius, who is a graduate and very involved. Through that friendship Alex came to Christ. It is also amazing to see how God works! We started a new group in the Transition Program. This year is a bit different in the fact that the 5 boys that we have in this program are still wards of the state and live at the orphanage. We are bringing them to the boys house for special projects and are trying to teach the some of the transition skills at this point. So far, it has gone well.

Summer Fun!

We had 6 weeks of camps with one other mini day camp for an orphanage with some special needs girls. We had around 120 kids in attendance. Over the summer we had 10 American team members. We also had about 15 of our graduates return to be Sefi de Trib, or Tribe leaders (counselors), along with 2 girls from a local youth group. There were so many amazing moments of camp that I couldn't begin to pick one or describe them all. So here are some visual favorites to give you a taste!

June 2019

For Us June is always the wrapping up of the school year and the big inhale to start summer ministry. For me that means a lot of juggling, trying to make sure all the details are thought through, all of the ministry supplies are located or purchased, the right documentation has been submitted and approved by orphanage officials to be able to bring the kids to camps, and making sure our staff and volunteers are ready on every level. This means I'm having lots of meetings, working on lots of lists, schedules, and documents plus shopping and gathering materials. Because we did camps down at our Boys Transition House this year for the first time we had quite a bit of prepping happening there to get the facility ready, which I wrote about in earlier blogs. Whew! As I look back it was definitely worth it! We had only 1 of the 4 of the young people which started the Transition program in the fall graduate. The other three succumbed to the pull of leaving Romania to work in Western Europe. We are very proud of Angie that she completed the program well and were able to have a small graduation ceremony and pool party for her. Ruthie and Karla finished their school years with Ruthie finishing second grade and Karla her second year of preschool. For the first time, Ruthie went away to overnight camp. She went to Tennis camp at the Black Sea. She did pretty well! We had a couple of work days down at the camp and I'm really pleased with how things turned out. Our theme was Kujua, which means "to Know" We presented to overall plan of God from Adam and Eve to the need for sacrifices, to Jesus coming to be our ultimate sacrifice, and the hope of heaven. This was done using a Hume Lake curriculum and we had a camp setting. We were also able to take most of our Romanian counselors down for a day of mock camp in prep for the summer. We took them through a day and let them play and be campers. We ended the day with a pray time around the camp. One of my favorite moments of the day was walking around the camp and seeing our kids that are new grown up adults, praying for the camps that were to come. June 24th camps began! Ready or not!!!.....

Team Time

For two weeks in May we had a team of 14 from the Biola Conservatory of Music. Bob Feller, has been a friend of H2H for many years and brings a group every other spring. This year he had 11 students and 2 friends join him. Out of the group we had a very unusual occurrence--more men then women in the group! During team time I do a lot of talking and driving. If you've ever been on a team with us, these two pictures probably look familiar! One of the projects with all the willing hands on this team was to work on getting things ready for summer camp. And work we did! We built a outdoor canopy, moved and built furniture, painted, worked on decorations, made benches and tables and did some cleaning, among other things! I was impressed by the willingness to jump in and the dedication to work long hours. We got more done then I anticipated! I took a fall off off a scafolding table during the work. I banged up my right side pretty good. I'm still feeling the effects in my right arm. Pray for healing for me, that this won't hamper what needs to get done for the summer! The group was also able to do several concerts and music teaching with the kids and community. The quality of music was great and I know that everyone enjoyed it. The kids that have been learning instruments with Heather were also greatly encouraged by fellow musicians. While down at the Boys Transition House, preparing for camp, I was able to feed my roots....You can take a girl from the farm, but you can't take the farm from the girl! The BTH is in the country, surrounded by fields and farmers. A few fellow adventurers, from the team, take a morning walk with me each day. We walked the hills and the fields. One day, we explored an old vineyard. It was one of the best in Romania, until the communist party took it over and destroyed it. It is now ruins. We enjoyed exploring them. We enjoyed it so much we went back another day, with their instruments so they could play in the old hall. Thanks Biola for another great time of ministry, growing and learning together!