Thanksgiving

Those who know me well, know that I love Thanksgiving! I love that the idea of the holiday is to spend time with those you love and focus on all the things that you have to be Thankful for. We once again had our big H2H Family Thanksgiving Feast. We had about 65 people this year which led to a full, fun house. It was again a day of blessing.

Fall Favorites!

Here are some more of my favorite moments from the fall!

Transitions

Each fall we find ourselves in the position of deciding which kids will enter the H2H Transition Program. This program is for young men and women, over the age of 18, who are no longer under the care of the orphanage, but don't have support or resources to start out on their own. Some years we have many applicants, other years less. It is a decision that I don't take lightly, because I know the power of change that can come from completing the Transition Program. We tell the young people that enter our program, that if you enter our program, you enter our family. Once you enter our family you are stuck with us through thick or thin. We, as a foundation, are committed to that promise. Our transition kids, go from being in the program, to graduating and usually living in one of our apartments. The next step is finding a place to live on their own, maybe getting married and starting a family, maybe moving out of Romania to a better job. Because of this transition the after care program came into place, marriage counseling, Mommies and Me classes, and grandbabies and child care. It is also why the Team House has become home base for over 130 kids. I believe with all my heart that to reduce the number of orphans in the world can only be done by adoption. Sometimes that is legal adoption, which unfortunately is a rarity in Romania, and other times that is symbolic adoption, giving kids a place to belong and people to belong to. It is one of my favorite parts of the work that I get to do. This year we have 6 young men and only 1 young woman. It is a special group for me, because 3 of the young men are kids that I've worked with since almost the beginning of my ministry here. I've seen them grow up and change and am so incredibly proud of the step that they've taken to be orphans no more!

The Prodigal Son

I don't know if you've ever felt like you were living out a story from the Bible, but for awhile we've been in the midst of the story of the prodigal son. In 1998, I met a little 4-year old boy named Berki. He grew up in orphanages that H2H worked in and I watched him grow and become a teen. He was very involved with our programs. He came to everything, was in the orchestra, and was one of the "favorites." He has always had a love for hair and when he entered our Transition Program, he and Ioana were given very special apprenticeships at a very nice salon in Bucuresti. He finished the apprenticeship, graduated our Transition Program, and had a place in one of our apartments. Then, about six months later, he decided that life would be better doing something else, so he moved out and quit his job. He went from friend to friend and then decided life would be better in Spain. With every decision that Berki made I thought "this is it, this is a low as he can go. He'll come back." But then I'd hear that things were worse. He lived on the streets, he begged, he tried smoking and drugs. Finally, in July, the call came. He acknowledged he made big mistakes and asked for forgiveness and help. In the course of the conversation Jenny said to him, "you are the prodigal son, and we are waiting for you with open arms." His reply, "Ohhh, that God would make it so." Three days later he returned. He is back in an apartment, getting counseling, and is working at Subway. I know that many of you have loved and prayed for Berki over the years, please continue. God isn't finished with him yet!

Summer!!

Summer Ministry is always one of the high lights of the year. We have a lot of volunteers that come to help us make summer special for the kids. This year was no exception. We had around 60 volunteers here from the end of June through July. We did day camps for kids 14 and under from 4 different orphanages in 2 locations at the same time during the first two weeks of July. Because we had enough team members, while day camp was happening at the team house, we had a group that went into the orphanages to do activities with the kids that remained there. The last two weeks of July we focused on the teams. We had a girls camp the first week and a boys camp the second. These took place at the team house, and were special times. The theme of the summer was a circus theme. We focused on living authentic lives, not lives of illusion and focusing on faith, hope, and love. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the summer--there were so many to choose from!

 

School endings!

School ends in Romania in the middle of June. Just like anywhere, the end of school years, represents endings of certain chapters and time to look back, reflect, and celebrate. This year we had four young men graduate from Branesti high school. This is an extra special mile stone, because these four men come from Peris, which is, in the eyes of the government, a special needs school and orphanage. If you are in a special needs school you only go to the 10th grade. These boys were given a special opportunity to transfer to a "normal" school after they finished 10th grade so that they could graduate from 12th grade. This gives them an advantage in finding better jobs. Because the "normal" school is more difficult they the special needs school, it was a difficult transition for all of them. We started, two years ago, with 9 kids and only 4 graduated. We are very proud of them and the effort it took to finish!

 
     Marin receiving his diploma                                 Marian Pana, Ionut Tudor, Jen, Marian Stefan, and
                                                                                                            Marin Dumitru

We had the end of the school year program at Peris as well.  It is a priviledge to get to attend and applaud in the place of these kids' parents.

In another big mile stone, Ruthie graduated from Pre-school and will start Kindergarten in the fall.  We are not sure where the time has flown, but we are so proud of the person she is becomming!

Last, but not least, Raluca graduated from University with a liguistics major.  Raluca was in our first girls transition program in 2005-2006.  It took her awhile to gain the courage to go to University, but she did it and finished!  Some of you were involved in sponsoring her schooling.  We are all thankful!

In yet another special moment for the month of June, we had our Transition Program graduation. We had 3 young men and 2 young women finish the program this year. Another reason to be proud!!