Spring 2013 Update

This spring we have been able to do many different things in addition to our normal school classes.  The weather has been beautiful which has allowed us to do lots of outdoor activities.  We went to the Bucharest Zoo a couple times as a reward for the kids’ good behavior and participation in our classes.  Many of them had never been to a zoo at all so it was a really fun experience for them.  Many of the kids loved taking pictures of the animals and each other.  Knowing that they love to take pictures, we had a week of photography classes for them.  Dan who heads up H2H Canada came over to lead these outdoor classes.  The kids enjoyed applying what they learned about light and composition by taking lots of pictures.  We were proud of how they did!

We also did lots of nice things with our transition program boys and girls and also the graduates from previous years.   The highlights were the special days that the Canadian team planned for them and the Easter celebration.  As more and more teams came over, our boys got to practice their English that we have been learning all year.  Each time they improved and they are now able to introduce themselves and talk about what they like to do in the program and in their free time.  They have been the most excited group we’ve had about learning English and they are doing great.

Our geography and animal classes continued to go well, as well as the tutoring class for the after high school math test.  In our art class the kids enjoyed drawing still life pictures and learning about famous artists like VanGogh and Monet.  

In youth group we watched the History Channel series “The Bible,” which was very well done.  The kids had lots of questions, some seemed very interested and others very closed off.  We have been talking a lot about putting faith into action but they are finding it a very hard thing to do.  This is our biggest burden at the moment, that we are facing so much resistance to believing in and following God.  We also felt an increase in spiritual warfare personally and as a staff as weariness and fatigue set in.  Added to that were knowing that many kids are being abused, a close friend here lost her baby late in her pregnancy, and seeing how jam packed the summer months will be.

We know that God has called us to minister to these kids and we know that it won’t always be easy and fun, but that in the end His plan will be fulfilled.  Thank you so much for your faithfulness in supporting us in prayer and financially.  We couldn’t do this without your help which God is using to provide for us.  Thanks so much for partnering with us to do God’s work!

Please Continue To Pray:

- Praise God for always watching over us and providing for us.  Pray that we will stay healthy and safe as we come into the summer months. Pray for energy in a super busy time

- Pray for our family, friends and supporters that make it possible for us to be here.  We could not be the hands and feet of Christ were it not for their love, prayers and support.

- Pray for the kids that we work with, that God will till the soil of their hearts and make them ready for planting, watering, and harvesting.  Pray that they are open to God’s word and will. Also pray for their safety and health as many of them face abusive situations

- Pray for us and the rest of the staff as we plan for summer ministry, there is much yet to do and the time is quickly approaching.

- Pray for those coming on short term mission trips to help us here and for those working on coming here full time, that God would provide for them and prepare them for his ministry

- Pray for God to provide for this ministry and give wisdom to everyone involved so that it is always focused on honoring Him

You can download a printable copy of this newsletter by clicking on the picture below:

Zoo Trips and Photo Classes

Who likes going to the zoo?  Many of our kids had never been to a zoo before so we decided to take a field trip.  Those in our animal character class got to take part in this fun outing.

These are our kids from where we work, in Rosiori, about two and a half hours south-west of Bucharest.  We took them up to the Bucharest Zoo, which is a pretty modest one, but they had the basics: monkeys, lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) and many more.

We stopped on the way back from one of the trips to take a picture near the rapeseed field.  This is what canola oil is made of, and it is very beautiful when it is blooming.

We celebrated Easter with a big get together with those who graduated from or are in the transition programs.  It also happened to be the day before my birthday so we celebrated that too.  It was also Marinel's birthday so we shared the glasses and tiara.  It was probably the biggest birthday party I've ever had and the singing was great!

We had a team from Canada here, and their leader Dan came to stay with us in Rosiori.  He lead a photography class for all of our kids and they really loved it.

We think we may have some future photographers on our hands!

One of the kids took this beautiful closeup shot.  They always enjoy taking pictures and were able to learn about lighting and composition.  We also enjoyed having Dan and his wife Luella stay with us and they were a big encouragement to us.

Please continue to pray for these kids and the difficulties they face in their lives.  Pray that they will flourish like this flower and that they will open up their hearts to the light of Christ.  Thank you!

Pictures Are Worth Thousands of Words

It is wonderful to finally have spring here in Romania.  The sun is out, the temperature is nice, and we can finally get out of the house to walk around and enjoy God's creation.

We have been enjoying seeing all of the fruit trees blossom.  Most people here have many of them in their yards so this time of year is very beautiful.  This is an apple tree at the boys transition house.

Of course all of those flowers attract lots of bees!  We did an outdoor english lesson and all we could hear was the buzzing of the bees.  They don't like to stop for pictures so it took nearly a hundred shots to get a few good ones like this!

Butterflies have all just come out of their cocoons and I'm always keen on taking macro shots of them.  Unfortunately they aren't very photogenic either, they don't like to stay in one place for very long.  I chased this one around for at least 20 minutes before it landed long enough to get a good shot. 

There is also an abundance of other colorful bugs, like this ladybug...

...and this yellow one, the likes of which I have never seen before.

This is a nice example of the beautiful weather we've been having!

There have also been some spectacular sunsets.

This is the entryway of an old abandoned winery that we explored.  It has been vacant ever since communism fell in 1989.

These barrels are massive, holding 6.5 tons of wine each!

They are about 8 feet in diameter, just huge.

There are also many abandoned factories scattered all over the place.

Most of them were shuttered after the fall of communism because there wasn't demand for the products they were making.  Many of them existed just so that everyone would have a job.

I hope you enjoyed this little picture tour.  Would you please continue to pray for us as we work with abandoned kids here in Romania?  Please pray for the kids that they would be open to God, most of them have a lot of head knowledge about God but it hasn't moved to the heart.  They find it very hard to put into practice being surrounded by their peers in a very secularized culture (sound familiar?).  We just pray that God will take ahold of them and give them transforming faith.  Please continue to pray for the planning of summer ministry and for our organization as a whole.  Thank you so much for being our partners in this life changing ministry!

Spring Fun

Spring is finally here in Romania!  When spring comes it brings with it renewed life, hope, and fun because we can finally go outdoors again.  It also means that there will be spring break at school.  This year we had one week of special programing and one of spring break.

During special programing week the kids got to experience and learn differently than they are used to.  I gave a presentation about London and all of the history and sights there.

After the presentation we had English tea and biscuits...

...and we made a craft, little Buckingham Palace guards.  The kids did other things during the week too like go to a bread factory.

Over spring break we had many of the kids over to our apartment to watch "The Lion King."  They enjoyed watching the movie on our awesome home theater system (too bad it was only up temporarily).

This was the second group of kids and they were very well behaved.  The first group was 21 kids and they were all pretty hyped up!

We also continued our apartment visits and enjoyed spending time with our kids.

Our friend Jenny came down for a few days to see what we do here and she enjoyed herself too.

We were finally able to do our English lessons outside at the Boys Transition House because of the nice weather.

After the lesson we went to the forest to pick stinging nettle, which they apparently cook and eat somehow.  We found lots of other things too like lizards, butterflies and snails.

We went past an abandoned winery and went in to take a look.  It was really neat to see but also hard to imagine that there are so many abandoned places like this in Romania.  Many factories and businesses closed after the fall of communism because there was no demand for the products they were making.  Now they are just cool places to explore.

Thank you once again for your prayers and support!  Please pray for all of the teams coming over from now until the end of the summer.  Pray that God will use the people coming on these teams to make a difference in these kids' lives for eternity.  Please also continue to pray for the planning of summer camp and for the kids to be ready to hear God's word and to make a change in their lives.  Thanks again!

Play Day

During the week we work with kids from the orphanages in Rosiori, a town around two hours south-west of Bucharest.  We travel to and stay in Bucharest on the weekends with another missionary couple there.  Because of that we don't usually get to see the kids at the orphanages around Bucharest.  Once in a while though, a team comes and we go to see these kids for a Saturday play day.

We are always greeted with lots of hugs and kisses and questions about why we don't come more often.  The bonds that we have with these kids still run deep.

We sometimes get to make new friends too, like these girls who are new to the orphanage this year.  They really want to learn English and they asked how to say so many things.

We also enjoyed being with our interns Megan and Samantha.

It is amazing to see how much the kids are growing, Petrisor is almost as tall as me now...

...this is a picture of us with him during our first trip in 2007!

Alina still calls us Mommy and Daddy...

...she has grown so much since the first time we met her in 2008!

Alina and I took a walk to look at some swans on the lake near the orphanage.

Don't know what this is but it looked cool so I went for a my favorite: a macro shot.

Here is a bonus picture, I was walking by the open air market the other day and saw this.  I thought it was funny so I figured I'd share it.