Summer is coming

  With these last two weeks of non-stop rain and the anxiousness of summer vacation approaching, the kids have been...energized.  It is a difficult time for the older kids we are mentoring, as they see the end of their time at the orphanage coming quickly.  They are trying to figure out where they will be living for the months up until our transition programs start in October, trying to find jobs, the BAC test is coming up again (it is like our SAT, they have to pass this massive test in order to get into college), and trying to make responsible decisions for their lives.  Please keep these older kids in your prayers and that God will direct us to the appropriate answers for upcoming situations.
  Both Josh and I love our time with our little ones as well.  We both help each week with Gredinița.  These are the toddlers up to Kindergarten aged children.  I have helped with preparing lessons, translating stories, finding crafts to use, preparing activities and games, etc.  I have loved helping in this area as I feel it is one of my gifts.  When Josh and I started here our group size was 8 kids, then it grew shortly after we came to 10 kids, now we have 14 and by the end of this summer we will have another 10 more added!  Our youngest so far is Maria, she is 2 years old, but she talks more than some of the other older kids and is capable of so much.  She is Josh's little bug.  : )

Josh & Maria.

  Here are a few photos of the little ones; we were drawing together.

Brothers, Inouț & Amendor.

Little Maria.

Florin.

Alberto, brother of Ionuț & Amendor.

Sisters Maria & Antonia.

 

  I am still helping with the music classes and are enjoying them all.  For our youngest class, I was asked to prepare several weeks worth of crafts to make musical instruments.  It has been a blast!  The kids have really gotten into it and after they have made them, they like to play along with music.  It is great.  : )  Here are a few snapshots.

Me helping Vali make his musical wind chime.

L to R: Diana, Robi & Florin in background.

L to R: Robi, Diana, Vali & Florin with their drums, wind chimes, maracas & rain sticks.

  Josh has continued to help teach the teenagers at youth group.  He recently taught that God gives everyone different gifts and that it is our job to accept these gifts and use them.  They read from Matthew 25 and Romans 12 and had a demonstration with fire!  Josh told the kids, if they had a match but did not know what it was or how to use it, it was useless.  But if you know how to use it you know it can give you warmth, light and help you lite a cigarette (as one of the kids said).  He has done such a great job translating his lessons into Romanian and teaching in their language.  Here is a look into youth group.

Listening to someone's response about a question.

Florin reading the passage from Matthew.

Josh's demonstration with fire...ok, it wasn't a big fire!  : )

 To say the least we are busy but loving it!

PRAISES:
- The gifts that God has given each of us to work together and teach these kids more about Him.
-  Our relationships we have with our kids.  They have begun to open up more and it has been awesome to share God's Word with them and see them grow closer to Him.
- The rest and rejuvenation we have gotten this past month.
- His daily guidance and presence in our lives.

Prayer Requests:
- My grandma and family just lost a wonderful Godly man.  Please keep her and the families in your prayers.  He is in such a better place now.
- My sister-in-law will be traveling to Haiti 5 months pregnant.  May God continue to hold them close and be used by Him.
- Please pray that we may stay healthy and get enough rest as our days will be longer with summer camps.
- For Lenuta as she is still getting used to being in London (for schooling), away from her family, friends and kids (at the orphanages).
- Pray also for God's coverage over us as times are stressful.  That we all may be able to continue to work as a team and put others first.

2 Teams, My Birthday, Easter

  A lot has happened since I last updated our Blog.  We have since had 2 teams come and go, we celebrated my birthday with a "weekend getaway", we celebrated Easter with our new family, and we were a part of the new Heart2Heart promotional video!  And, we are in our first week of our full-time ministry schedules.  WOO HOO!!  : )  We are so excited for the things God will do through us as we continue to learn about the kids individually and see where we can help in the ministries that have begun.  So here's a recap of what we have been up to...
  We had a Kiwanis team here during școala altfel, this is a new thing that schools all around Romania did for the first time this year.  It was a week where teachers would use different fun "tools" to help kids learn.  For instance, teachers put on puppet shows to teach kids about cavities and having healthy teeth, going on field trips to museums or taking the classroom outdoors.  It was cool to be a part of new teaching techniques and changes the Romanian schools are attempting.  During this week, the Kiwanis team spoke about America in Roșiori and I helped plan all of the crafts.

American coloring pages.

A boy from Roșiori with his crafts he made.  : )

  At Periș, during școala altfel, we had 4 stations where kids could learn a bit of different things.  We had a group teaching dance moves, we had another group teaching about cameras and taking pictures, Josh helped the kids make no-bake cookies, and I helped with the music groups.  Here are a few actions shots of the kids in the music groups. 

We played with boomwhackers! They all did so well and loved it!

  For my birthday, Josh surprised me with a trip back to Oradea, Romania!  If you remember back about 6 years, this is where we took our first 2 trips to Romania when we did our Week of E at Lincoln Christian University.  It was a 12 hour train ride but so cool to experience Romania's countryside by train!  We traveled to Oradea, at night in a sleeper car.  It was awesome and totally reminded Josh of Chronicles of Narnia!  Here was our sleeper car.

It was a bit small, but nice to have a place to lay down to sleep.

  When we arrived at Oradea, we met up with old friends and made some new ones.  It was fun to experience this part of Romania again and because we had learned the language it was so interesting to hear the accents the Northerners have!  They talked so slowly that we could actually understand what they were saying to us and it seemed that they even added little sounds to the ends of their words.  It was so cool!  : ) 
  In Oradea, there is an organization/orphanage called Caminul Felix.  It was extremely interesting to see the differences between our kids here in the capital city of București and the kids there in Oradea, the countryside.  Caminul Felix has homes with house parents and daily helpers who help raise the 12-18 kids in each home.  It was drastic the differences in comparison to these kids from ours in București.  It just goes to show the impact of living under one roof and having the "parental" guidance in kids' lives. 

Celebration House kids - 2006.  (L to R) Boy in red (not sure), Zoli, Andrea, Câtalină, Timi, Ionuț, Victor, Ghița is holding Sara and Ionela is to the right on the floor.

Celebration House kids - 2012.  Standing in the back (L to R) Josh, Ionel (father of home), Anca holding Hanna (mother of home), Zoli, Valerie, (on couch) Catâlină, Dora, Andrea is holding Sara, Maria, Me, Norbi, (on floor)Timi, Ionuț, Ionela and Ghița.

We went to see John Carter in 3D!

  I was missing home a lot just before my birthday, so getting away helped to rejuvenate me!
  While the Canadian team was here, we celebrated Easter.  We celebrated a week after you did, on the 15th.  Easter is just as big as Christmas here, with stores closed, people away to the countryside where they grew up, and a week off of school.  We put on an Easter celebration with about 40 Transition graduates.  We could not hide Easter eggs outside for the Easter egg hunt because of rain, we played bingo instead and put all of the eggs into a black garbage bag and when someone got a BINGO they were able to reach down into the back and pull out an egg.  You see, the Easter egg hunt is a big deal around here because there is 1 golden egg with 50 lei in it!!  (That is equivalent to about $15...but is a big amount here).  This game was a huge hit...until the golden egg was found, so then we added 10 lei into 2 other eggs and 5 lei into another.  It made the game a lot more interesting.

Helping to answer the Bible questions to get a BINGO.

  Also, while the Canadian team was here, we put together some Easter activities to do with the kids at Periș and Voluntari. 

Julian painting an Easter basket.

George hard at work on his Easter painting.

Claudia making an Easter card.

Florin (in the back) and Marin making Easter pictures.

Diana doing a good job of keeping her egg on the spoon!

Ionuț trying to make his Easter egg into the basket.

Look at Nicoletta's concentration!

Florin and Adrianna trying so hard to pass the Easter egg only using their feet!

 PRAISES:
      - We have both stayed healthy through the change in seasons.
      - We have had great short-term teams who prepared so much to do with the kids!
      - For our families, you, and our partners back in the States, it has been so great to receive notes and packages and prayers.  THANK YOU!!

Prayer Requests:
      - For continued health and safety, especially as I (Missy) am learning to drive here!!  WATCH OUT!  : )
      - For financial support for us, the other missionaries and H2H as a whole. 
      - For our kids, as they grow into young adults with jobs and responsibilities, dealing with both the good and the bad.  May their hearts be forever softened for the things God has planned for them, that they may be open to His calling to bring them closer to Him and that Josh and I may be intentional and responsive to His voice while we have the pleasure to be a part of their lives, no matter how long or short that time is.
      - Also for family members back home that are sick, in pain, and expecting!  May God bring healing, health and joy to you all!  We love you!  : )

The end of the beginning

  Well, we have officially finished language learning with our professor.  Yay!!  Now we are to use what we know, learn from our mistakes and learn MORE vocabulary for when we are teaching the kids.  It has been fun to be more available to be with the kids and to be able to have real conversations to this extent.
  On our last day of lessons, our professor took us on a tour of Piața Unirii, Piața Universitate and Piața Revoluței.  It was very cool to see the beautiful old structures in this area.  She even schmoozed her way into an old bank that is now used as a corporate building.  I had no idea that the insides of the banks and other old buildings were done so beautifully!!  They are like old churches, with paintings and amazing designs.  Here are a couple of things we got to see and hear about on our "tour".

This is the opera house where orchestras give concerts.

Cool front doors on an old church we visited.

Old gravestone that has been restored.

Old, huge, beautiful bank that is now used as a corporate building.

HUGE old library.

King Carol on his horse & his library.

They didn't want to destroy the old part that was still standing, so they just added a new part to the top.

  We traveled down to the Boy's Transition House again this week and Josh was able to review a bit with the boys and speak to them more about jobs and money.  He is excited to be able to continue this with them and grow his relationships with the boys.
  Josh also sent in a proposal about beginning a transition/mentoring program with the older kids that are wanting to come into our Transition Program.  He is wanting it to be like an introduction to the program, showing them what they will be learning and what is expected of them in order to get into the program and to help them succeed after the program.  It will be a great tool used to help the kids better transition, as they have little structure now.  It is like culture shock for them as our program has a strict structure.  This will really help our programs and kids be more successful.
  We were able to visit the mountains again this month and were so amazed by all the beauty within Romania!  We hope to travel Romania during our vacation to visit and experience more of this breathtaking country.  Here are only a few shots of what we saw.

The view of Peleș Castle and mountainside.

Us at Peleș Castle.

An old fortress on the entire mountain top!

Cool shot of old cross on top of the mountain overlooking the town.

Us at Bran Castle. A.K.A. Dracula's castle.

The tiny secret staircase at Bran Castle.

Us in the courtyard at Bran Castle.

Bran Castle.

The actual "city gate" restored in Brașov.

An older lady walking down one of the smallest roads in Europe.

The Black Church...it was burned but not destroyed. The cement blocks just turned a dark color.

Us in the center of Brașov's piață, a German influenced town.

PRAISES:
- We have been healthy!
- We completed language lessons!
- Our amazing language professor.  She has taught us SO much.
- Our growing relationships with our kids

Prayer Requests:
- Baby hospital is out of quarantine, but we are in the process of renewing our contract.
- Our culture fatigue...the littlest things seem like a big deal and we don't want this in the way of God's work here.
- The boys in our Transition Program, as they have begun working in their village
- Our teams that will be coming over the next several months

A Season for Everything

  As the weather is getting warmer, the snow is melting, and as we are beginning our busy season, my culture shock is still affecting me.  When we first moved here to Romania, everything was new and exciting, even learning the language.  But as time has gone on, I love the culture one day then dislike certain things about the culture the next day.  If I had not been in the Missions program at Lincoln Christian University, I don't think I would have known what these feelings were.
  With the language learning, I feel as if I have begun to plateau and that I can't take in anymore information.  Although I have been feeling this way I have continued to surprise myself as to what I have learned and how even now things are 'clicking' in my head!  Praise God that He has given us the perseverance to learn this new language and the strength to continue.  I know that when language lessons are done, and we begin our ministries, I will continue to learn so much and will make many mistakes but learn from them.  We will be completing language at the end of this month!  Pray that we will continue to open our minds and soak it in.
  As we have been here for nearly 6 months already, we have had some time to explore and rest from language and helping in the ministries.  We went unexpectedly to the mall to spend some needed time together, we went to Predeal and hiked up and down mountainside with friends, and we have been going for walks near where we live.  Here are a few pictures as to what we have done.

On top of the mountain with our friends, Cristi & Amy.

Look the beautiful view!

It was a bit sunny.  : )

We walked all the way across the frozen lake!

  We had our first team of the season and we had a good time visiting the orphanages with them.  The baby hospital has still been under quarantine, it has now been almost 2 months.  They have passed around sickness and the chicken pox.  We hope to get back in there soon! 
  It was fun to see what they had planned to do with the kids and to see how involved the kids got into the projects.  It was a small group of 5 people and it was exciting to be able to do some basic translating for them and the kids.  They had prepared crafts for Marțișor, a holiday celebrated the first week of March.  They celebrate the 1st for the coming of spring.  They sell little flowers that begin to bloom up from the snow and little charms with red and white string braided together.  On March 8th they celebrate Zuiă de Femei, like Woman's Day or Mother's Day but all women are celebrated not just mothers.  It was nice to get little cards and charms from the kids.  I was totally not expecting to receive anything and was so thankful to see they appreciate me.  : )
  Here are a few pictures of us hanging out with the kids. 

Playing cards with Alex.

Playing cards with Doru...isn't he a cutie!

Josh with Elvis!

Playing cards with Gabi.

Josh with one of his silly boys at Voluntari!

Helping to make bracelets.

  A week or so ago, Josh was teaching youth group at Voluntari about being fully committed to God using the visual of, "are you a chicken or a pig"?  Chickens lay eggs to eat but pigs have to die in order to have food.  He did the same lesson at Periș but the kids at Voluntari really got into it and started asking questions about how to hear God.  Josh was able to give part of his testimony this night also.  It was awesome to see the kids get so into it!
  Another BIG accomplishment for Josh was when we went out to the boy's transition house and he taught them all in Romanian about how to make a budget and the difference between a need and a want.  He and Ramona (a Romanian missionary with H2H) put together a lesson for the boy's to learn more about handling their money once they start a job after the program.  Josh really has a passion to help the transition kids and graduates with this and with providing them knowledge and helpful ways to better their abilities with having a hold of their money and where it is going.  One big issue that we have with our graduates is that they love to borrow money from one another or from others, therefore not having enough to pay rent, etc.  Josh is hoping that by continuing to talk with them about this, they will not have this problem.  As Josh says, "The borrower is slave to the lender".  Here are a few shots of him in action...

What is a need and a want?

The boys all working out a budget.

Talking about taxes and fees if lending money from a bank.

Writing a budget.

 



















PRAISES:
- For all of our partners, we would not be here without YOU!
- Our fun times with friends & relationships we have made!
- The special moments and relationships we have with the kids!
- God provision and greatness is revealed more and more everyday!
- For God's hand in keeping us healthy these last couple of months!
- That we will complete 6 months of language learning at the end of this month!
- My sister-in-law is pregnant & we will be home shortly after the baby will be born!

Prayer Requests:
- That we will continue to put God above all things and find rest and joy in Him
- For the babies/kids, continued health and safety and that the kids may continue to make good decisions
- For the spiritual growth of our kids and that we will be listening to God's guidance with this
- Continued strength to finish language learning strong
- The future as far as our ministry plans
- For H2H, that we continue to make wise decisions as an organization