Parenting, Patience, Prayer

  I, Missy, feel like I have learned so much, about others as well as a lot about myself.  I was not expecting this when we began this program.  But, this will happen when you live in a house full of people.  Another thing I have learned is that parenting is hard!  At least parenting a handful of teenage/young adult girls.  I have definitely learned more of what not to do. 
  I feel that I am responsible in helping our girls stay healthy and to help them make the changes they need to be more responsible, respectful, disciplined and to begin their journey in their relationships with God.  It is upsetting when the girls are not respectful with us or with one another, or when their emotions and attitudes take over and determine their entire day.  When this happens, they miss the opportunity to accept the blessings God has placed in their day for them.  I want them to not miss these wonderful signs for them to know that God is with them always.
  I want so many things for our girls.  I want them to accept Christ as their Savior, and to do well in their job placements and keep their jobs so they can live without the struggles of not having an income.  I want them to serve others and have the fire to learn more about God and grow closer to Him each day.  I also wish for them to have amazingly close relationships with those they trust to be good influences to them and to help them when they need someone to lean on.  I want them to do their chores without complaining and to know that they are blessed by this program and to be grateful for the things they have right now. 

The girls had the fun idea of going to the store at night in our pjs!

  I have forgotten at times to look at myself and make changes with my actions in being responsible, respectful and disciplined.  I have wrongly placed expectations for where I wanted them to be or thought that they would be at this point in our program.  Also, it is upsetting when I don't have the patience I need with the girls when their attitudes or emotions take over.  I am supposed to be an example of a Godly woman and I have failed them over and over with this.
  I need to continually "train my mind...to prayer mode" when problems and trails arise (Young, S. (2012). Jesus Today. (p. 24). Nashville, Tennesse: Nelson, Thomas, Inc.).  Being female can make this difficult but I need to look to Him daily for guidance and support because I can't do it on my own.  I believe that patience and prayer go hand in hand with parenting.  If I do not have patience, it causes more problems and does not show our girls His unconditional love.  But if I genuinely pray for His patience and support during my times of impatience, He will take control of those situations and make the outcome for His will.    
  Josh has been a great help for me with being so patient with the girls and he does not usually get emotionally intertwined in situations.  Josh has always been good about allowing the girls to be who they are and not placing many expectations on them and helping me to stay back when they need me to let them figure things out on their own. 
  As I was reading from Sarah Young's Jesus Today, I came across these verses...
Psalm 143:8 - "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."  I love this verse because it reminds me that if I take time each day to read His word and set Him above all else, He will guide my steps and show me His unconditional love to share with others.
Isaiah 50:10 - "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant?  Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God."  Again, trusting in Him is something I need reminding of.  There are times that I feel I am walking in the dark, without Him because I try to do things on my own and do not include Him.
Psalm 42:5 - "Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."  There are times when I have gotten so down about my failures with the girls that I again have forgotten to lift them up to Him, ask for His unfailing forgiveness and praise Him through my trials.  This can be so hard to do!
   I pray for His guidance and support in how to approach our girls and what to say when they need to hear it.  I pray that I can keep my tongue and be that Godly example that they need right now in their lives.  I pray that I do not put myself or others above God and my relationship with Him.  I pray also that I can continue to be teachable by Him and daily read His word.  I pray for our girls that they can continue to learn how to forgive and what that really means.  I pray that they continue to learn more about themselves and to see God working and moving in their lives.  I pray that they seek to serve Him in all that they do and go and do what He has for their lives.
  Thank you for your continued support in all that you do.  Can't wait to see those of you coming for a visit!

Seek Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with your God.

  Don't worry!  We are still alive and doing well!  It has been a while since our last Blog post, a lot has happened and things are getting busier around here.  It took a little while for us to get back into the normal routine again after the holidays.  But we are back into the swing of things.  Here the girls are in the car, as we make our daily trip into the city to drop them off for work or school.

They are so beautiful!  So excited to be in their lives, sharing God's word with them!

  Tis' the season for teams!  We just had our first team come and leave and will have another team coming at the end of this month.  This is a special time for us to see friends that have been here before on previous trips and a time to meet new friends so that we have extra hands to love on the kids!  During our team season, although we are very busy and have many logistical decisions to make, mostly made by Jen and Jodi, we love it!  It is so nice to have people come with fresh ideas and new materials for our girls and kids in the orphanages.  It is a great time for the kids to hear about team members' life stories, have someone to play with and feel God's joy.  We are excited to see you if you are coming this year!  If you would like to join us, look on www.h2hint.org to see what trips we have and/or contact Jodi Sorrels for more information.  Soon we will be planning for summer camps and would love to have you here working alongside us!
  dates with girls
  The job hunt is still on for Claudia.  Just this last week she went to several places, asked if they were hiring and handed out resumes.  It is more difficult than we thought to find her a job (being an 18 year old female) with workable hours for our schedule we already have in place.  Please pray for her as she continues to search and is helping to clean people's apartments in the meantime.  We are loving the extra time we get with her though.

Claudia and Josh playing soccer.

  Ionela (L) and Ioana (R) are doing well at the salon with their internships.  We love hearing about what they did at the salon and the new things they are learning or taught others!  They are very hard workers and are ready to learn and try new things.  This opportunity is such a blessing for them!

  Alina has been busy with her last year of college and preparing for her dissertation.  She is studying psychology and has decided for her final paper to discuss lying and a person's thought process when lying.  She is also continuing her mani/pedi/hair course.  She is wanting so badly to get a job at a salon doing nails!  Pray for her perseverance and success in doing well this year.

  Elena will be finishing her cooking course this week!!  She is very excited for this!  She will have her final project of cooking and presenting a meal on Thursday.  Please pray that she will finish well and continue to grow her confidence for finding a job when the time comes.
  Elena has an infected molar that she has been getting some work done on.  This process has not been a fun one for her, as she has many fears from things that have happened in her past.  We have talked with her and are trying to help her feel more comfortable in knowing she has strength in God to keep evil/scary thoughts out of her mind and to focus more on His beauty.  Pray that she is able to work through this to help her time at the dentist be limited and to give her the confidence and strength she needs.

  Ana finished her last semester strong with high grades on several exams she had!  She was very proud of this!!  She has begun a new semester of college (also studying psychology) as well as an internship answering phones at a helpline.  We think this will be a great opportunity for her!  She will be able to practice listening to her clients and learning how to respond to help encourage people to make the right decisions.  Pray that she can continue to do well in her classes and that she will gain the confidence to finish strong.

  For Valentines day we were able to do something special for our girls.  We made them dinner and bought them each flowers.  Corny joined us for a weekend of good food and fellowship as well!  We enjoy having guests stay with us for a night or weekend!

  Missy's violin lessons have been going well.  She now has three students that she is currently teaching and is having a good time with it!  Missy has had to re-learn a bit, as here in Romania they do not use letters for names of the notes; they use Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si, Do.  For instance, a C is Do, D is Re, etc.  She has loved sharing her knowledge and talent in teaching the kids to learn to read music and to learn how to play the violin.  Check out her students...

Florin is learning notes and timing.

Gabi is learning to pizzacato on the violin.

Achim is learning to play more difficult exercises.

   Missy also helped lead the music classes while Kirsteen was on furlough in Scotland.  She played music games with the kids and introduced them to marble painting!  She continues to help with the music classes in two orphanages (Peris and Voluntari) and has had the opportunity of playing her violin for the kids to hear and learn about string instruments.

  Definitely keep the orphanages in your prayers.  Although we are not there every day we are seeing the struggles that are being had by the kids, H2H staff, and the orphanage workers.  The Peris orphanage has scheduled to begin (this month, March 2013) a major reconstruction project for both buildings.  This means that the boys will soon be moving into some of the empty "houses" that are on the orphanage's property while their building is torn down and rebuilt.  Please be in prayer for them as this is all happening, that the kids will be safe and be closely watched after as construction materials will be around.  On a happy note, some of the older kids from Peris have spoken up, to the right people, about the poor quality of their food and have been receiving better quality food since. 

At Peris, because of the upcoming reconstruction project and lack of money to fix the lights in this room,we have had to improvise on the lighting for music classes.

  We have been working out and feeling better.  We are excited about the warm weather and can't wait to be walking and running outside in the sun!  Having to improvise, Josh has been using chairs as weights.  We are thankful for our abilities and the ways we are being used.  We pray for perseverance as we try to change our bodies to a healthier more Godly state.

Please continue to pray for our girls as we are beginning to help them make the mental transition from the program to life on their own.  What that looks like, how they must think, extra responsibilities and how to continue toward a path less taken; a path towards God.  Pray that the girls will continue their relationships with Christ. Pray for us, that though we are worn out and beyond tired, that we will continue to serve Christ with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength.  That we will continue to serve the girls and pour everything we have into them!  Pray for the upcoming spring and summer, that everything goes smooth and that God is praised in all we do!
small group time with girls