Tattoos and Playing in the Park

When we go to the orphanage we are always looking for fun things to do with the kids.  In the last couple weeks I have found something that they really, really like - tattoos.  It's not a big surprise because many of the older kids have their own real tattoos so everyone wants to be cool like them.  Thankfully the ones I do aren't permanent or down the road they would all be asking themselves what they were thinking!

Here is the whole arm train tattoo...

...a Jedi Knight...

...a dragon...

...and Spider Man, this day we had a new team with us and they painted in the tattoos.

My favorite one that I did was this one of Yoda from Star Wars.

Of course while I was busy being a tattoo artist for hours the others played and spent time together like normal.  We can hardly believe how much Catalina has grown up in the years since we've been here.

Ana loves her animals.

We also were able to travel down to Rosiori where we work during the school year.  We went to see some of our kids and played games and colored.

After that we took them to the park to play for a little while.

We all had a really fun time, even if you can't tell from little Oana's face.  We always love spending time with our kids.  Please continue to pray for them and ask God to watch over them and bless them.  Ask him to protect them from those who would abuse them or take advantage of them.  Ask him to reveal himself to them so that they might know him as their savior.  Thanks so much! 

A little of this and a little of that...

What have we been doing in these past weeks since the end of summer camp?  A little of this and a little of that :)  We have had a more relaxed schedule, but have still spent plenty of time with our kids.  We stayed up in the Bucuresti area for two weeks and spent lots of time with the kids up there.  It has been really nice because during the school year we don't get to see them very often. 

This summer Haley has continued her reading program and we have been helping the kids to read their books.  The kids are really bored and get really excited to read their books.

Ana and I.  She loves to play games her way and to be read to.  She really likes cards and she will count them out, but she usually skips the number seven.

Mark playing cards.  Always have to watch for those who invent their own rules!

Who would believe that behind this cute smile is a little boy you need to keep your eye on?!

We took a trip up to the mountains as well.  It was so nice and cool up there!  We had always wanted to take Marius up there, but it had never worked out in past years.  So he rearranged his work schedule and we went up there for a few days.

It is so beautiful up there, God's handiwork is amazing.

Contemplating life...or just waiting for us out of shape people to reach him?

There was a long line for the gondola up the mountain so we decided to hike up it.  It was a beautiful climb, but a hard one!  Marius really enjoyed it, so that is all that matters ;)

By the lake.  Enjoying each other's company and the surroundings.

Another big event of the summer was Alex and Ioana's wedding.  They both recently graduated from our transitions programs and were ready to start their life together.

The happy couple.

Another happy couple.

Josh and Missy

Steven and Haley

Here Alex is declaring his love for Ioana, a condition for the safe return of his bride.  It was a lovely wedding and we wish them all the best.  As our kids grow up and mature into adults, there are new chapters and challenges to their lives.  Let's remember to keep them in prayer so that regardless if they know God currently or not, that each day will bring them a step closer to him.

Teen Camp Rosiori Kids Part 3

Teen camp in Rosiori was our last camp of the year and we definitely saved the best for last!  Around 30 young adults showed up for our five day camp and we had such a great time.

We started off each morning with some fun icebreaker games.  We played some games from the TV show "Silent Library," where there were six volunteers and the one who gets the skull and crossbones card has to do a challenge.  The funniest one was where one of the boys had to hold a balloon under his shirt while it was being pumped up so big that it popped.

We played other fun games like Birdie on a Perch, where partners have to find each other and one person sits on the other's knee when the music stops.  The last one to make it is out and it goes until there is just one pair left.

After the games we worshiped God through singing.

It was great to hear the kids singing praises to God!

After singing we talked about how we can relate to God and live for him.  The messages were centered around personal stories and also stories of famous sports players that the kids could relate to.  Here I was demonstrating the difference between love and anger in our lives and how they affect our relationship with God.

After the message we played some big group games outside like ultimate frisbee...

...dodgeball, basketball, and lots of other fun games.

Then we broke up into guys and girls, the guy played in a soccer tournament...

...and the girls played games on the X-Box Kinect like "Just Dance."

At one point all of the girls in the room started dancing with the game even though there were only a few actually playing!

Each evening we had a hangout time at the local stadium where we played games and spent time together.  This was an unstructured time that was really nice because we were able to get to know the kids a lot better by just spending time with them.

At the end of camp we had swim parties in small groups, fun as usual.

After this camp was over we had such a good feeling about how it went and we were sad that it was over so fast.  We feel like God really worked here, which is something that we have all been praying for a long time.  We had great turn out, many of the kids that came don't normally come to our programs so it was nice to get to know them.  The kids had a great time and especially when we were singing and talking about God they seemed to be really soaking it in.  Everything went so smoothly with the kids and hearing them laugh and have fun was great.  Please continue to pray that the work God started here will continue in their lives.  Pray that they will be involved in our normal programs that will start back up this fall.  Most of all, thank God for what he did here and for working in mighty ways in these kids' lives.