The end of February we had a team of 6 women arrive.
Five were from Michigan and one from Illinois plus Jim. Four of the 6 had been here before and so it was a pretty seasoned team. They stayed for two weeks and we packed them full. The first day they were here we had a staff vision summit. Jim and I spoke to the staff about 20/20 vision and the direction that H2H is heading. Jodi sent some fun decor and games and the team made lunch for us as we met. It was a great time to regroup and make sure that we are all on the same page.
Day two, we went to church and then had a big birthday bash at Pipera. It was a perfect time for a family party since we hadn't had a h2h family event since New Year's. Karla's birthday was Feb. 26, mine March 3, Nicu's March 5th. and Eric's March 6th. So instead of 4 separate parties- how about 1 big one! Karla turned five, so she had an LOL table and cake and Eric turned 2 so his was Cars. We had a fun afternoon. We had a pinata, gifts, cake and fun time together.
The team had lots of good time visited kids in all of our different locations. Being the first part of March, Romania celebrates Martisori, which is the end of Winter the begining of Spring. The colors are red white and flowers are the norm, so the team did lots of Martisori crafts with lots of different groups of kids. We also spent 3 days down at our camp facility (the boys transition house). The team visited groups of kids in Rdv, but we also started painting the club for our summer camp theme. I enjoyed this group. It was a great two weeks of serving together!
We also went down to the camp and spent a day painting. The girls came along and spent the day playing with Chi Chi.
Al the end of week one Romania went from recommending staying home to making law. The law says that no one is allowed outside of their house without a document that gives details that you are doing one of the approved activities. There are police and military out checking people's documents. It has been a challenge for sure, but we are trying to use the time constructively. We've worked on cleaning and organizing, planning for camps, plus trying to do as many activities on line with kids as we possibly can. We had a facebook live youth group this week.
One comment that has been made many times is that these type of restrictions and police/military presence reminds Romanians of the time of communism. Though this is a different root, it is interesting to get a small taste of what it is like to not have freedom of movement. I'm so thankful for all of the freedoms we do have and am thankful for all of the blessings that we've been experiencing through this time.
One of those blessings has been extra time in study and prayer. I've been reminded over and over that we are to have a spirit of joy not fear. I also have been counting my blessings and among those blessings is my family, the H2H family, all of my kids here, all of the wonderful people that I've met through all of these years, my church families both here and in the US, and an amazing group of people that love and support me in so many ways.
Please be in prayer for our kids. They are confined with different levels of care and attention. Also, please be in prayer for h2h funding. This crisis has definitely effected our funding. We know that God is in control and are waiting with expectation to see Him work in amazing ways.
