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!!!