France Vacation

Well it is hard to believe that our 10 year anniversary vacation in France is done already!  We had a great time and would like to share with you what we did there.

We started out in Paris and stayed right in the center of town in a small studio apartment.  It was a great location close to lots of attractions and the main subway lines.  We got off to a rough start when the person we were renting the place from didn't show up and we couldn't get into the building.  Thankfully some people across the street helped us and we figured out that the person sent an e-mail an hour before we were supposed to meet with the information on how to get in.  

Paris is a wonderful city with so many well known sights to see.  The Notre Dame cathedral was the closest one to us and also the point where we got on our two day bus tour of the city.  The open top bus was a great way to see the sights and we really enjoyed it.

We enjoyed seeing the Eiffel tower nearly every day as it is so impressive and beautiful. To avoid the long line for the elevator we walked up to the first landing to get a nice view of the city.

Then there is the Arc de Triumph, which is much larger than the one we have here in Bucharest.

Just about each night we went out to take night pictures of our favorite sights.

They don't call Paris the city of lights for nothing!

We took a day trip to the palace at Versailles which was built by King Louis XIV.  It was awesome and practically too big to take a picture of the whole thing.  The palace was filled with ornate rooms and golden decorations, and there was a really large garden in the back.

We also visited some of the museums in Paris.  First we enjoyed seeing all of the impressionist paintings at the Orsay like one of our favorites, Poppies by Monet.  The next day we went to the Louvre which is one of the worlds largest and most visited museums.  There we saw the Mona Lisa, Venus of Milo and many more famous works of art.

We also really enjoyed the ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian collections at the Louvre.

We enjoyed many great meals not only in Paris but on the whole trip.  We had lots of French and seafood but took a break from that with this Thai meal which was amazing.  Rebecca had King Prawns in Tamarind Sauce and I had Red Curry Beef with Coconut Milk.

We also found this gluten free bakery which was so wonderful, we went there for lunch and got a few pastries to go.  We just wish we had their recipes!

After Paris we took a train to the Loire Valley where there are many chateaux (castles) which were built by French kings and aristocrats.  We rented a car so we could see as many as possible.

In two days we saw 17 chateaux, most we just drove by or stopped to take pictures but we went inside and toured some of the more well known ones.

This was the most spectacular garden at Villandry.  The tour of the chateau was worth it just for the view of the gardens from the roof.  The neat thing about these gardens is that it is a mixture of flowers and vegetables that make up all of the exquisite colors and patterns.

We tried out as many French pastries and chocolates as we could, and they didn't disappoint!

We then drove west to the area of Brittany and stopped in Carnac to see some of the prehistoric remains there.  There are over 3000 large stones, called megaliths, that are aligned in rows or placed on top of each other to make a sort of tomb like this one.  They are older than stonehenge and were really neat to see, especially one that had ancient markings carved on it.

We visited many towns and enjoyed the old city centers in each one.  

We then went all the way to the west coast of France and enjoyed some beautiful weather and scenery.

Point Pen Hir was one of the most dramatic coastlines we saw with the islands and aqua blue water it just all seemed so surreal. 

We traveled to the Pink Granite Coast to see the unique colored stones and rock formations.

On our anniversary we went to Le Mont St Michel, a stunning abbey built on a small hill that becomes an island when the tide comes in.

We traveled through some really unique coastal towns with pretty harbors.

Since we were so near to the ocean we enjoyed an abundance of seafood and it was wonderful.

On the last leg of the trip we went to Normandy to see the D-Day beaches and ruins.

Many of these gun bunkers remain there as a reminder of what happened in that dark time.

This was such a great trip and we really thank God that we were able to do this.  He really blessed our time with good weather and a fabulous time.  Now that we are back in Romania we are back to planning our fall program.  Thanks for your prayers up to now and please keep them coming!

Summer 2013 in Romania

We have loved summer ministry in Romania ever since we participated in our first summer camp in 2008.  Summer ministry is a chance for us to give the kids a change of scenery and to pour into them in a very special way.  We started in June with a team of music students from Biola University in California.  They brought their instruments and played for the kids and we also put on a carnival for children’s day.  The kids had the most fun trying out the instruments, especially the French Horn.  After that we had a team from Reno who helped us finish out the school year with fun projects and crafts.

In July we officially started summer camp.  We were able to use a local high school for our camp location which worked out great.  For our young kids curriculum we used a medieval themed VBS program called “Kingdom Rock.”  Each day we started off with a skit and some songs.  Then we would split up into groups and each would go to a station: Bible Story, Imagination Station, Missions, and Games, to teach the kids how to stand strong in God and to have strong faith in him.  In addition to this, every other day we took a small group of kids to the pool at the H2H team house for a swim party.   This was of course their highlight, they just love swimming!

We also did a teen camp where we used personal stories and testimonies to show what real faith looks like.  At the start of each day we played hilarious ice breaker games, then had a great worship time and a message.  After that we played some group games and then had a soccer tournament and more game time.  Each evening we hung out with the kids at the local stadium.  This camp was a highlight for us because we felt like we really connected with these young adults and they also seemed really open to hearing about the Lord.

In August we had time to do less structured things like go to the orphanages to play and hang out.  We spent as much time as we could with Marius, including taking him to the mountains for a few days.  We enjoyed hiking in God’s splendor and the weather was so refreshing.  We also were honored to attend the wedding of two of the kids that were in the transition program this year and the baptism of Elena.  We also enjoyed seeing a teen that we work with, Dan, start reading the Bible, asking good questions, and attending bible study and Church, as well as helping us with camp.  He had previously taken a stand saying that he didn’t believe in God so seeing him change and accept Christ a wonderful answer to prayer!

Please Continue To Pray:

- Praise God for sustaining us this summer and giving us a fruitful ministry.  Pray that he will continue to work in the hearts that were touched by his truth and love.

- Even as things went so well we still experienced hardships and spiritual attacks.  Please pray that fall ministry will go well and that we will be protected from attacks.

- Pray for us as we plan for the fall that we will be able to follow God’s will and work out a schedule.  Also pray for us as we travel to France to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  Please pray that God will make his long term plan clear to us.

- Pray for staff members Josh and Missy as they leave the field and start the next chapter of their lives back home.  Also for Kirsteen as she went back home at the beginning of the summer.

- Pray for Talitha as she arrives here soon to join our full time staff.  Pray for her transition to Romania and for her language learning.

- 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.

Thank you for praying and helping us make this a successful summer.  Even after four years God is blessing our partnership and giving us fruit, praise Him!

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

Elena's Baptism

If you've heard us talk about Romania and especially how we came to be called here full time, you've probably heard us talk about our special girl Elena.  We met her for the first time at summer camp in 2008 and she made a lasting impression on us.

It was on the long hike to the monastery in the background that we really got to know each other and when she said for the first time that she wished she had a father like me.  My heart melted and I knew we had a special bond.

Later that night we talked more about her life and her past and we shared about ourselves too.  She said that she wished that she had parents like us because her Mom took advantage of her and it was so bad there that she ran away to the orphanage.  She had never known unconditional love but we were happy to offer her our love.

After camp we kept in contact with Elena through H2H staff.  She was one of the main kids that God used to tell us that we should work here full time.  We had the thought in mind that if we could build such a strong relationship in one week then how much more could we do for a longer period of time?

When we got here we tried to see Elena whenever we had the chance and eventually were able to work with her full time when we started working in her town.

We enjoyed going to her Christmas programs and being there for her like the parents she never had.

Elena entered into the girls transition program this year and had a great time learning life and job skills.  We got to spend time together and do fun things like an Easter egg hunt.

We also got to see Elena at church every Sunday.  She has always liked going to church and loves to sing.  But this year she grew closer to God and decided to be baptized, praise God!

Here is Elena reading the Bible with Florin, who was baptized a few years ago.

At the baptism she shared one of her favorite Bible passages.

Even though we knew about her baptism and we had talked about it before she called us up to formally invite us.  She wanted us to be there for her like always and we were happy to oblige.  

We are so proud of Elena for making this decision and taking this stand in a world that is trying more and more to push God out.  We pray that she will be an example to others and that God will use her in big ways.  Thank you to all who prayed for her and the kids that we work with here.  God is working among them and we are privileged to see some of the fruit of all of our labor.

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!