A New Fall

     The 2014 school year kicked off again the middle of September.  A new year always means new challenges and this year was no different.  In Aug. and Sept. we had two couples from the H2H staff return stateside, so we are down to just 10 full time staff members here in Romania.  That has meant that we've had to make a lot of decision to how to have the most effective program that we can with the staff that we have.  I think that we are off to a great start!  A smaller staff means a few less logistics and a need for me to be more hands on at the orphanage, which is a great thing in some ways.  I'm helping to lead a Jr. High group at one orphanage, a youth group at another, assisting in Character/Bible classes, teaching clarinet lessons, and whatever else I need to do.
     Another change this year is that we have a new director at one of the orphanages.  This is a great change and she is proving to be a great advocate for the kids and has vastly improved the environment at this orphanage.  One of the biggest changes is that she has been able to get some of the teens enrolled in a high school program.  This particular orphanage is characterized by the government as a special needs orphanage and therefore the kids only go through 10th grade.  They then, of course, have great difficulty in getting jobs because they only have a 10th grade education.  We have many kids from this orphanage that have been mislabled and do not have special needs.  This new director was able to convince a high school to take 9 of them that finished 10th grade last spring so that they could go on and get a 12th grade diploma.  We are EXTREMELY excited about this for this group and for the future potential that it gives to them.

     This high school is about 45 minutes away from the orphanage and so the kids are boarded there during the week.  We, the H2H staff, have made a commitment to check in on them and we have a weekly visit to see how they are doing, check their living conditions, verify homework and class attendance etc.  A month in we are down from 9 to 6 that have stuck with it.  We are proud of them and ask for your prayers for them in the coming months!

     One of the very fun parts of our ministry is celebrating life moments with our kids.  I've talked about this many times before but it is one of my favorites parts of what we do and I think that it is extremely important!  This past month I had 2 experiences that stuck out to me.  The first was celebrating birthdays.  Once a month we gather the kids together from each orphanage that have a birthday during that month.  When I was gathering the kids together for the small party for October, I called one little boy, Nicu, who turned 11 this month.  When I called him to come he asked why I was calling him.  I told him that we were celebrating his birthday.  His face lit up, his eyes became huge, and he said, "It's MY birthday?  When?  How old am I?"  My heart shattered in a million pieces and I was reminded once again the importance of loving these kids, helping to define moments in their lives, and how small things like a cupcake and a small gift can make such a huge impact!  

Another favorite moment in the past month was that I got to play tooth fairy.  One of my favorite little guys, Doro, had a really loose tooth and I helped give him confidence to pull it out.  After it was out I told him about the tooth fairy.  Knowing that I couldn't sneak into the orphanage to put anything under his pillow, I told him that it was something that happened in America and since I'm an American he should give me his tooth, I'd put it under my pillow, and we'd see what happened.  My next visit to that orphanage I took him a new toothbrush with cars on it and 5 lei (about $2).  When I gave it to him I said "look at what the tooth fairy left."  He gave me a huge hug and said very seriously, "I know that the tooth brush is from you."  Another boy walked in the room and Doro told him,  "look what I got!  The tooth brush is from Jen, but the money if from the Tooth Fairy!"  Making him happy made my whole week!

The Merry Month of May!

The memory making continued on during the month of May.  The Canadian Team wrapped up, we had a few days in which we were "teamless" and then the North Carolina Team arrived.  We packed the NC team full of more special events.  We had another zoo field trip, two special gatherings with the teen girls to talk about true beauty, a special visit to a severe special needs orphanage that some of our kids have been transferred to over the years, and a day at the park with some of the Rosiori youth.  Whew! 

 

Back at the zoo, followed by ice cream cones from McDonalds!

We also had plenty of time to play at the orphanages! Below, I'm trying to teach this group to play jacks.  Some of the kids caught on, some not, but fun had by all!

 One of my favorite things to do with the kids is to play basketball.  I love to play and, unlike in soccer, can hold my own.  This game will remain one of my favorite memories with this team and the kids!

The group at Herestrau Park.  This is the big "central" park in Bucuresti.  We had a scavenger hunt through the village museum, a picnic lunch, a boat ride on the lake, followed up by ice cream sundaes at the team house.

It was a lot of fun to visit the severe special needs orphanage.  We do special events there a few times a year and the kids are always very excited to see us.  Some of the kids there came out of the orphanages that we do full time ministry so they know us well and are especially excited for our visits.  The NC team raised money to throw a pizza party, so we brought in pizza and brownies and shared lots of nice moments!

Sometimes, I think that you must think that all that I do is host teams and special events.  Sometimes, I feel that way too!  But there lots of other things that I get to do.  Right now we are getting the pool shocked and ready for summer camps.  Today I spent my morning picking cherries!  We have a ton.  And sometimes, on down days, Jenny and I do something to relax.  In between teams this month we visited the Mogosaia Palace.  

The Palace grounds

It was another great month. Thanks for being a part of my life!

Smiles, Eggs, and a lot of Love!

April was a very full month!  As usual when the weather gets nice we take advantage of it and do as many outings as we can with the kids.  We had 2 great teams during the month that helped tremendously in helping us make memories with the kids.  I've been thinking about that a lot lately: memory making.  When someone asks me to name a favorite childhood memory I have so many to choose from I don't know which to pick.  When someone asks the kids from the orphanages that we work in to name favorite memories from the last years, they almost always revolve around something done with H2H.  I LOVE that we get to be a part of making positive, lasting memories.  What a privilege it is to be a part of!  Thanks to all of you who support us and help to make it possible!

Here are some of the highlights of the month of April!

Smiles
After not being able to find dentist that could come to Romania, after 7 years we were once again able to put on the H2H Dental Clinic.  They were here for only 1 week and our goal was to treat 100 kids and young adults.  We had a glitch in the plans, when one of the dentist's bins did not arrive with the rest of the luggage.  We couldn't throw in the towel though, so with a lot of flexibility, creativity, and hard work we in the end saw 71 patients, did 132 filings, and 73 extractions.

 Dr. Brett and Dr. Larry hard at work.

 One of the things that didn't arrive was headlamps, so we had a flashlight holder in place for each doctor!

 Marius, one of our transition grads had a broken front tooth.  This is the before....

 This is the after

Jenny and I acted as assistants for the week.  It was quite fun relearning to number teeth, how to hand off instruments to the doctors, and how to know and anticipate what they would need.    In addition to assisting, I gave a few injections, did a filing and pulled out a few teeth myself---of course with the Dr. Larry standing right there.  Need some work done?  Give me a call!

Whew!  This is how we felt after the end of each day.  But it was a good tired after a great week!


Eggs

Right after the Dental Team left, Easter arrived!  We had the Transition Boys with us for the weekend, in addition to the annual H2H Easter gathering.

 Dying eggs is fun at any age!

Dressed up and ready for church.

The golden egg was found in the last minute.  This is a highly sought after egg worth 50 lei!

Lots of Love
A couple of days after Easter the Canadian Team arrived.  This is an annual team that always brings lots of love and energy into whatever we do.  A few of the highlights of this team was a carnival to reward good behavior and a couple of field trips to the zoo.

 A few of you might remember a few years ago, on a field trip to the zoo. My little guy, Vic, was able to get Luna, the tiger, to run back and forth after him.  Well Luna and Vic were reunited and after a little convincing from the kids was running with them and Vic again.  Vic loved it and it was so fun to watch!  Definitely the highlight of the day! The picture below is Vic and I watching Luna.

 Some of our little ones at one of the orphanages!  Lots of love to be shared by all!  Thanks everyone for a great month!!!

March Musings!

I jumped into the Mission Possible Team when I returned to Romania on March 5th, so I hit the ground running!  It was fun to see all of my kids again and catch up on what I missed.  The weather has turned to spring here in Romania and so it has been fun to be outside with the kids more, which always helps with attitudes!

                                                 Our Daniel and the Lion's Den Craft!

Fernando is my Birthday Buddy.  We have a birthday on the same day and every year take a picture
                                              and celebrate together.  He turned 11 this year!

At one of the orphanages we enjoyed the nice weather by playing a human-sized Sorry game with the
                                                             youth group.  Tons of fun!

                                                                    The cheering section!

 Today the Peris boys participated in a local communities soccer tournament.  Some of the staff went to cheer them on.  I definitely felt like a soccer mom, cheering and providing snacks for our                                                            kids. Other then the cold wind, it was a fun day!

                                                       They took 3rd place! We are proud!

Time in Kansas

This year I decided to push back my furlough time in the US a few weeks so that I could be in Kansas for my birthday.  I turned 40 this year, and I haven't celebrated my birthday in Kansas with my family since I moved to Romania 15 years ago.  So, this year I went I was in Kansas from Feb. 1st through March 4th.
The first weekend of February, my family had our family Christmas at noon, followed by a superbowl party. 

Other highlights of the month were lots of shopping, coffee, eating out, and girls weekend out with college friends. My mother had surgery on her rotator cuff at the beginning of February, so helping out with things at home and my Mom's recuperation was a big part of my time.  I was glad to have been there for that and glad to be able to help out. 
Another huge part of the month was dealing with bad weather.  It snowed almost the whole month!  There was a birthday open house planned for me on March 2nd, and it was postponed until the next day because of bad weather.    It was cutting it close, since I flew out on the 4th, but for there was a nice turnout and I was very blessed but so many people in so many special ways! 

The Holiday Team!

The Holiday Team is always a special team because they come during a special time of the year, the kids are on vacation so there is more down time to play, and there is usually a fair number of returning team members that come mixed in with a few newbies. This makes it feel like it is family coming home to spend Christmas with us!  This year was no exception.  It was a good team and also very big, with 24 team members in total.  Their comings and goings varied so there were many, many trips to the airport.  I told my staff that if at any point during the team they couldn't fine me, I was probably at the airport!  The team helped us hand out presents and pour out lots of love and attention to many of the kids we work with.  We also were able to had out gifts to 2 orphanages that we don't work in full time, but do special projects with when possible.  One of them, is an orphanage with kids with severe special needs, and though an emotionally challenging place, everyone leaves feeling that they were blessed as well. 

 At the airport welcoming team members.

 Training time!  The first morning orientation and planning.

 Handing out gifts is always a lot of fun.  I don't know who is more excited to look through the bags the kids or the team members, but doing it together makes it more fun!

 Craft Time!

 Game Time!

 Our annul New Year's Party was another success.  Jenny and I are ready for 2014!

Another way we try to share Christ's love is also to bless the directors and workers from the State that work at the orphanages that we work in.  This year we baked goody trays to take in and Starbucks donated free coffee for us to take in as well.  The team also had some special treats for the orphanage staff like chocolates and aprons for the cooks.  We hope that they felt the love of Christ through us as well.  We believe if we can love the staff they will be more willing to love the kids. 

Thank you Holiday Team of 2013-2014!  Thanks for all of your time, sacrifice, gifts, hugs, bruises (from soccer!), ministry materials, and every way that you showed the love of Christ to our kids, to the H2H staff and to each other.  Thanks as well to each of you that prayed for this team and financially gave to make this Christmas extra special!