Jen's Journey

Monday, May 29, 2023

Many Different Ways To Do Ministry!

When most of you think of what H2H does in Romania, you probably envision lots of different kinds of programs with adorable kids. While you are correct, our jobs often require lots of different types of work that has to be done to be able to have these programs. In my role, this is especially the case. This time of year finds me bopping between sitting at my computer or in meetings to schedule summer ministry, telephone calls and meeting with directors to get all the documents in place so that we can bring kids to summer camps, working to make sure our houses and vehicles are ready to accommodate lots of kids and team members, normal visits and ministry with the kids and H2H family, and much more. I sometimes feel like I'm a circus act that spins plates and I need to keep all the plates spinning without letting any fall! I actually love the variety of what I do! And while, it is not glamorous or the picture of "typicial" ministry, it is reality and necessity. When I'm scrubbing the gunk out of the pool, I envision the smiles of the kids when they will be jumping in. When I'm rewriting documents, I think of the kids piling out of the vans yelling "Americani!" Loving the kids of Romania takes many different forms, but all with the goal of showing them that they are loved with the love of Christ!

We needed to do some repairs and painting at the Boys Transition House that will be hosting alot of our summer programs. Before

During and After

We had a garage sale to fundraise for repairs and summer minsitry. It was a good event.

Kid times!

The weather, this Spring, has been especially stormy. We've had quite a bit of rain. It has led to some beautiful skies and I even got to drive on a Rainbow. God is faithful!

April 23

April in Romania means Easter Celebrations! Typically, Romanians get two weeks off for Easter break. Spring Break for schools is always tied on to Easter break. At all of the schools that we teach in, we have a combination of kids from the orphange and kids from the towns or villages. It is amazing to me to see the kids from families that have no concept of Jesus and the story of Easter. In comparision, the kids from the orphanages, that have grown up with H2H's involvement in their lives, know the story of Jesus. Fruit from years of investment from many different staff and teams. I'm grateful that God allows us to occasionally see that what we do does matter. That is encouragement in the times that we wonder if what we are doing makes a difference.

We did special activities at our Snagov house, which is continuing to house Ukrainian refugee families. Currently we have 3 family units which is 3 moms, 1 grandma and 12 children. It is a busy place!

We, of course, had a H2H family Easter Celebration at the Team House. It was a fun day being together and celebrating. Great time of reflecting on the meaning of Easter, eating great food, and of course the massive egg hunt!

We also had a wedding in April. Marinana, who was part of our Girls Transition Program in 2007, got married, in a civil ceremony.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Other Spring News!

In addition to the Spring Team, we've have some other things we've been up to! The H2H family continues to grow! I mentioned that during the Spring Team we had a baby shower for Mariana Patrascu. We also celebrated, with our Alpha Omega Church family, a baby shower for Marius and Adriana. They were married here at the Team House a year ago, and it is so fun and exciting to continue to walk alongside of their family!

You’ve probably heard me talking about the fact that in the past few years there have been quite large changes in the orphanage system here. The goal of the government is to shut down all of the large institutional facilities and move kids into smaller, more family style homes. Many of our kids have been moved around and we are doing our best to continue to visit them no matter where they land. We were able to visit a new facility to see 5 of our kids. It was so amazing to see them and how much they've grown. Plus, make connections and hopefully open the door to future collaboration.

Our Snagov house continues to house Ukrainian refugees. The number has reduced and right now we have 2 families there. This means three women and 10 children! We do a variety of activities there, but are very excited to have found a woman, who speaks Russian, that will be going 1-2 times a week to teach Romanian and Bible lessons.

We are preparing for summer ministry! We are very excited that we have 2 teams that will be coming this summer with about 30 volunteers! One of my big jobs is to figure out the logistics of this time and establish a schedule. The staff is also working on the curriculum for summer camps. We are using the theme that We are Lights in the World, with the idea that our faith can bring light into dark places. We are going to use the setting of caves and the last team helped us finish painting our club to look like a cave!

Spring Team 2023

It has become a tradition to have a team from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area each year at the beginning of March. This year they returned with energy and enthusiasm to help usher in Spring in Romania.

We were able to visit many different ministry locations and do story time, crafts, games and just love on the kids. March first is Martisori day in Romania, which is the celebration of the end of winter, beginning of Spring. It is usually celebrated by giving flowers and small broach type pins with the intertwining of the colors red and white. The Michigan team usually brings a flower craft that we can do with the kids and they can give them away. Makenna, from the team, has experience in face painting and we were able to put that skill to use as well. It is always fun to see what skills a team has that can be put to good use!

We also had several special events with the team. One school we work with brought 15 students for a special field trip to the Team House. We had story and craft time, but we also had a lot of fun cooking with them. Most of these students have special needs and don't have many life skills developed, so it was fun to watch them thrive in the kitchen! Some of their classroom teachers, that we partner with, come as well. It was hard to tell who was more excited, the kids or the teachers!

We also had a baby shower for one of our privious girls transtion program students. Mariana will be having a baby girl in May.

Between Feb. 26 and March 9th we have five birthdays in the H2H family, including mine. We combine all of the birthdays into one big party. It was a fun day had by all!

Thanks Spring Team for all of your hard work and service! Thanks to all who continue to support our lives and ministry in so many ways!!