The Love Rollercoaster: The higher the mountain top the deeper the valley!

       Oh man!  What a month!  Ever had that thought cross your mind!?  One of those months that you expected not as much to happen that actually happened!  At the same time not realizing that all that happened in only one month (seemed like 6 months; or at least enough happenings to fill 6 months)!  Where to start...how about the beginning of the month.
      April 5th was Missy's birthday so the girls put on a little birthday party for her!  They bought her a new shirt, infinity scarf and made her a cake all by themselves! 

    I was also able to take Missy for Paris for her birthday for the weekend!  We enjoyed the beautiful city and everything it had to offer.

   












   Once we got back from Paris the weather began to warm up and we began to spend more and more time outdoors enjoy the beauty of nature and Romania.  We also we able to have a family fun night courtesy of some money given to the girls from Christmas!  We wanted to do something that they had never done before.  Something exciting and fun!  BOWLING!!!  Yep, they have never ever been bowling and seeing how a city of 15 million has only one bowling alley, not many Romanians have been bowling!  So off we went!!

      After one broken nail and smiles that didn't leave their faces for at least a day we had a successful night of bowling and dinner!  I love doing family fun nights!  It is so much fun to get to spend time with all the girls and see them enjoying that time! 
      Missy and I have learned that sometimes after the highest highs, when things feel like they couldn't be any better and you never what that feeling to end, the lowest low shows up.  As we approach the end of the Girls Transition Program it is hard not think about the future.  The future of this home, the girls' future, our future endeavors, summer and it's chaos, the teams that will come and be the hands of the feet of Christ.  There is so much stuff to plan and prepare for that sometimes we forget that our girls are struggling with the same things.  The difference, they don't know how to confront it in a healthy manner.  Rather they revert to what they knew because it worked and made them feel safe.
      We recently had two girls make the decision to go back home and not complete the final two months of the program and therefore not graduate from the program.  It is beyond comprehensible to understand what we felt like.  We had invested into these girls with all of our heart, soul, mind and physical strength and to have heard the sentence that they are leaving the program....It felt like I got all of the wind knocked out of me.  As I stood at the train station waiting for the train to come I couldn't help but continually remind one of everything we have tried to teach her hoping and praying that she will remember something.  We were reminded that God is in control and these plans, although shocking and difficult to swallow, were part of God's will.  Their success should not be measured by whether or not they graduated the program, that is not why we came, but rather their success is measured by whether they felt God's arms wrapped around them while they were here and were they taught about life lessons so that they may become success women of society here in Romania.  We love you Ionela and Alina and never forget the Christ loves you and died for you so you may have eternal life in Him!

      So we keep pressing on despite the departure of two girls.  Difficult?  Absolutely, but perseverance develops character and character, hope.  Hope is the trust and faith that God's will is already done and is not lacking anything.  Back to the top of the mountain we go...!  It was not more than four days after the second girl left that one of our girls got engaged!  Yes engaged!  Alex, a boy from our Boy's Transition Program (BTH) popped the question to Ioana!  He had been planning this for sometime now but wanted to find the right time!  We had known for awhile that he was planning this, and we had been helping him.  In fact, we decided to give him the ring I gave Missy when I proposed to her.  A way of continuing the tradition of the ring!  Missy also had the chance to go wedding dress shopping with Ioana, and the dress awaits their special day!

      This is also the time when the teams flood in from around North America!  Our first team to always kick off our summers is the Canadian team!  We have always enjoyed the Canadian team.  They are always a ton of fun and are always a great reminder about why we do what we do.  They also help us in planning for our summers!

    
Please be in prayer
      -As the summer approaches it means crazy busy!  Teams and summer camps and fun fun fun!  Pray that God be glorified in all that we say and do!
      -Girls and Boys at the BTH/ATH/GTH as graduation comes.  They will begin their new lives with new jobs and new places to live.  Pray that they can come close to God and trust in Him during this time of transition and stress.
      -Pray for those girls that have left the program.  That they can continue to grow in Him and come to know Him more!
      -Pray for us!  That our marriage is continually strengthened through Christ!  They we continue follow after Him!
      -Pray for the ministry!  That God be glorified in all that is said and done!!