Backpacking Exploring

Last week I went backpacking in the Carpathian mountains! Soon we will be bringing 11 boys on a backpacking trip through the mountains, so we needed to scout out the route and find out everything we needed to know. My friend Matt who I've known since fourth grade flew in the night before along with Richard. JT, who is working on coming as full time staff, came a few days earlier so we could make sure we had all of the right materials. It was an amazing experience and we were really lead by God in all of the planning.

We started at Sinaia, where the Peles Castle is located. We took the cable car up the mountain and headed out from there.

There were many sheep and cows grazing the mountains.

Which way does the trail go?

If you look closely you can see the cross, a 70 foot tall monument to the heroes of WW1. We were constantly in awe of God's creation, everything was so beautiful. This was near the spot where we set up camp the first day - where our plans completely changed. We put up our tents and started cooking when the skies opened up and poured. After that a man drove up to us on a quad and told us we couldn't tent camp anywhere in the park because of bears. We were really surprised since we did lots of research and talked to several people, but he was very forceful so we packed up. It was almost dark so we went to the nearest hostel for the night and tried to figure out what to do. We had planed on tent camping all over so this blew up our entire route.

We talked to the innkeeper who was very helpful and we planned out our next stopping point. This rock formation is called the Sphinx.

We hiked down the other side of the mountain to a place where we heard we could camp in tents, and were blown away by the beauty there.

Our destination was the mountain rescue station. Once we got there we talked to the leader there who was really nice. He allowed us to set up camp within their fenced in area so we'd be safe from bears. He also agreed to let us stay there for three nights with all 16 of us, and we'll be able to use their water, bathroom, and fire pit. He will also find firewood for us and buy us bread for the days we're there. It was so amazing how accommodating these guys were, it had to be God working because everything came together so well. The mountain rescue guys also agreed to tell the boys about what they do and some stories which we are going to tie into our need to be saved by Jesus' sacrifice.

This monastery is very close to our base camp, we will go there and explore the cave behind it with the boys. I talked with the priest there about what we're doing and he said he would give us a discount for the boys to get into the cave. Another God moment.

The new plan is to do day hikes from our base camp at the mountain rescue. We think the boys will be blown away at the beauty of the place and we pray that our discussions will penetrate their hearts.

The morning dew covered the entire valley, as if encasing everything in tiny crystals.

This stunningly beautiful butterfly played hard to get but he finally landed long enough for me to get a great shot.

The last day we took the cable car to Busteni, our final destination for this trip. We went into the house of culture and met a great man who was so excited to tell us stories. He was hosting a recital and he introduced us to the players who were practicing, showed us a big book of signatures of famous people, and played his Transylvanian flute for us. After that we boarded a train back to Bucharest. It was a beautiful ride and a fun experience.

This trip was amazing in so many ways. We enjoyed beautiful scenery, met many nice people, and finalized the plans for when the boys come with us. We asked God to lead us and He definitely did, and now we pray that he continues to lead us when we bring the boys. They will arrive today and we'll leave for the mountains tomorrow morning. Please pray that everything goes well and that this is a life changing experience for the boys.

Wedding, Playing, And Praying

Last weekend we attended the wedding of our friends Cristi and Amy. We went with many of the H2H staff and had a really nice time. This was our first Romanian wedding and it was quite the experience, and we didn't even stay until 5:00 AM when it was done. The ceremony started at 6:00 PM and after lots of pictures after that the reception started. The first course of appetisers came out at around 9:30 and the main course came around 12:00. We left after we ate the main course, there was probably cake later but we were all too tired to stay longer.

Sunday afternoon Rebecca moved to the girls transition house along with several other staff and interns to prepare for the girls camp that will be starting soon. Older girls will come to the house and will be pampered, have a scavenger hunt, and learn how to be the kind of woman God wants them to be. I stayed home and have been working on preparing for the hiking trip with JT, who is in the process of raising money to come on full time staff. We will be taking 11 older boys on a backpacking trip in the mountains with a few other volunteers. The boys will learn how to rough it, do orienteering and geocaching, and will learn about purity and what kind of men God wants them to be. After the girls and boys camps we will be running two separate camps since we'll be working with kids from around 6 orphanages. It will be non stop fun.

We also went to two orphanages when we had time in between all the prep work, as we also have a short term trip going on here. It was fun playing with the kids as always. There was a line for piggy back rides, and we colored and played games.

The balloons were a big hit too.

As we start the summer ministry we will be in different locations and have different schedules than normal, and we're not sure what kind of internet access we'll have. We'll try to keep the blog as up to date as we can.

Please pray for these things during this time:

-for God to supply us and the rest of the staff and volunteers with strength, energy, patience, and overflowing love. We know we can't do this without God's provision.

-for opportunities for us to share Jesus' love with the kids and for the kids to have open hearts and to receive Jesus in their lives.

-for safety in traveling, we'll all be doing a lot of it.

-for us to be flexible and to be lead by God to follow His plan.

-against the forces of the evil one who will try to stop our ministry because we are giving glory to God and making disciples.

Thanks so much for your prayers and your faithfulness. We really appreciate your support and thank God for your involvement in our ministry.

A bit of everything

This past week we did a bit of everything. We helped prepare for summer camps, went to the baby hospital, helped get the Girl's House ready, and visited the kids from the orphanage. This is the last week before summer craziness begins. To have an idea of what summer is like, we had a staff meeting and devotion over the summer plans, and it took 2 hours to get through our schedule until the beginning of August. So much will be going on and we will need lots of prayers!

Making pinatas with our interns, Krysten and Amanda

Painting flowers for girl's camp decorations

Florica

Mark with a little girl

Krysten with Andreea

Ryan

Another precious girl

Mila

See the big cherry (Mark)? We picked 3 buckets full!

Rebecca and Lola (after brushing her for a long time!)

Where are we going to visit the kids? We passed sheep on the way....

And Alina found a snail there...

The Black Sea...on a nice rainy day

Venturing out on the pier. We decided although we'd have liked to see the sea on a nice day, it was best for the kids to have extra entertainment on a rainy day. It seems it is less about having your plans be met, but more about your attitude that matters! Stay tuned for a post of summer prayer requests.

Another Orphanage

Around Christmas time we went to this orphanage to deliver Christmas presents, and we've gone back only a few times. H2H is hoping to have our program here next school year. This orphanage has a lot of the younger kids, they are so adorable! The director here is a visionary and really loves "her kids." The kids are pretty well behaved and are eager for us to be there more often. This is a place we'd love to work at next year!

The kids loved the balloons (which didn't last very long :)

Mark and Kristi (short team member) with some of the new kids

Rebecca and Aurelia

Mark put a couple of the boys in the tree, they loved the new view

Playing with the parachute with the Clarksburg Team

Andreea blowing bubbles

One of the real little ones, Alexandru, who was three or four (he gave two different answers when asked how old he was)

The kids in line for lunch

They hold hands and go two by two into the lunch room...so precious!

Will you continue to pray for H2H's plans for the summer and fall ministry? For God to open the doors for us to serve these precious children who are close to his heart and for these kids to learn about the Father who loves them.

Heroes Carnival

Last week was the end of the school year so we had a fun carnival to celebrate. We have studied heros during the year so we brought in costumes for the kids to dress up in.

Lots of the girls dressed up as princesses, like Ana and her sister Flori.

As always Alina was all smiles, she loves to be held up high and to cuddle.

Her brother Marius had a blast, he enjoyed being Superman.

We had many stations set up with different games, relays, and activities. Each activity had something to do with the qualities of heroes that we studied, like integrity, honesty, loyalty, etc.

And here is the best princess of them all!

We also watched the kids' graduation program and were very proud of the kids.

The next day we went back to play some games, and it was really hot, nearing 100 degrees. We played water games and were soaked within five minutes. We made up around 150 water balloons and had so much fun.

Sunday the transition house girls and boys graduated from our program. We had a ceremony for them, then a meal and swimming party. Many of the previous graduates came to celebrate too. We are really proud of them and ask for your prayers for them as they move on to the next phase of their lives.