Summer in Romania is always a highly anticipated time that we look forward to all year long. Working with the kids through summer camps enables us to minister to them in a whole new way. We get to take them out of their normal environment where feelings like loneliness, anxiety, and oppression are ever present and bring them into a high energy, fun filled time. We also have more freedom to talk and study about God and to share His good news with them and make it real through our testimonies and interactions. This summer was no exception and we really had a great time!
We started out with a special camp for teen girls and two trips to the
mountains with some of the older boys. The girls enjoyed an olympic
themed camp at the girls transition house. In the mountains with the
boys we set up our tents inside the protective fence of the mountain
rescue station to keep out the bears and other animals that roam around
there. We did lots of hiking and sight seeing and we had many chances
to talk about God and what it means to be his follower. We focused on
how we can honor God, grow, and be joyful in the trials that we face.
We also followed the life of David and used him as an example of how to
be a man after God’s own heart. We had an awesome group of guys come
from America to help us and they contributed a lot to making these trips
great.
We then started day camps with the younger kids, from ages 3 to 14. We
brought them out to our transition house in small groups and did a sort
of VBS program with them. We sang, learned about the Bible, and did
olympic themed crafts and games. The weather was so hot most of the
time, usually mid 90’s to low 100’s, so we played lots of water games
like duck, duck, goose with water balloons, balloon toss, and slipping
and sliding on a giant slip and slide. These camps were the highlight
of the kid’s summer and they never wanted to leave!
After two more older boys and girls camps were finished a small team
from FairHaven Ministries, our home church, came to help us run a fun
VBS program for the kids at one of the orphanages. We had a really
great time ministering with them and they did a great job of working
with the kids. We were really encouraged and blessed by them coming and
are hoping that more people will come on a trip that we are planning
for next year.
At the very end of summer we headed to Vienna, Austria to visit our
friend Carolin, who was an intern with H2H last year. We really enjoyed
touring three palaces, seeing impressive cathedrals, going to a Mozart
& Strauss concert, and eating amazing food. We then headed home for
a short visit which included being part of Rebecca’s sister’s wedding.
We enjoyed seeing family and friends but our time home was way too
short to even begin to see everyone. Don’t worry though, we’ll be back
sometime around Christmas for a longer time so we’ll get to share with
our churches and spend more time visiting with everyone.
Please Continue To Pray:
- Praise God for such a great summer. He sustained us even as it was very busy and taxing. Pray that the seeds that we planted will grow into faith that will be put into action
- School is starting soon! Please pray for guidance and wisdom for us and all of our staff as we plan our classes and work on scheduling
- Both transition programs will also be starting soon, for the first time in two years for the girls program. Pray for the kids coming into the programs that they will have a great growing experience in the programs. Please also pray for all the staff that will be involved in these challenging programs
- None of our students passed the college entrance exam, only 40% in the whole country did! Pray for their next steps as some enter into our transition programs and others will be helped by H2H to find apartments and jobs. Some will continue to study to take the test again next year
- Praise God for all of our support partners and pray that God will bless them and continue to provide for us. Pray also that H2H and our churches will be fully funded. Pray for staff unity and for a great year in which we can see a big change!
- Praise God for such a great summer. He sustained us even as it was very busy and taxing. Pray that the seeds that we planted will grow into faith that will be put into action
- School is starting soon! Please pray for guidance and wisdom for us and all of our staff as we plan our classes and work on scheduling
- Both transition programs will also be starting soon, for the first time in two years for the girls program. Pray for the kids coming into the programs that they will have a great growing experience in the programs. Please also pray for all the staff that will be involved in these challenging programs
- None of our students passed the college entrance exam, only 40% in the whole country did! Pray for their next steps as some enter into our transition programs and others will be helped by H2H to find apartments and jobs. Some will continue to study to take the test again next year
- Praise God for all of our support partners and pray that God will bless them and continue to provide for us. Pray also that H2H and our churches will be fully funded. Pray for staff unity and for a great year in which we can see a big change!
To download a printable copy of our newsletter click on the picture of it below and download it.
Also check out the promotional video that H2H had made with all new footage from this spring!
Thanks as always for your prayers and support, we couldn’t do this without you!
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