Monday, June 30, 2014

Day 11

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Another great day in Romania!! Jessica and I got up this morning and went to church with Ale.  We didn't go to her church, but a different one in town.  I was happy to experience a different church.  Adella translated for Jessica and Ale translated for me. It was a very good service!  They preached about praying for others and ourselves and knowing God's word so that when faced with temptation we have something to strengthen us.

After church, we came back to the apartment and hung out while waiting for Paul and Lumi to return from their church in Bacnea.  I am planning to visit their church next Sunday if I can.  They returned with Lumi's sister and her family.  We all went to get pizza at Pizza Motors in town.  Super yummy pizza!!

Later, we met Ale, Libero, Marcus, and a friend of theirs for a hike.  When Ale told us that we were going on a hike, we didn't quite expect to be climbing a mountain! To be completely honest, it wasn't really a mountain, but a very big hill.  It sure felt like a mountain though!  There were some great views from the top!
About half way up, I needed a break so I took a few pictures...


From the top, awesome views, once I regained the ability to breathe!!






This is what we hiked up!!! Super steep!
Headed back down!!
I can now say I climbed a mountain (very big hill) in Romania!!  Tomorrow we start working on the mural at Point of Hope!

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Day 10

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Whew, what a day!!  Jessica and I got up this morning and took the bus to Targu Mures to see Gabi.  She met us at the bus stop and then we walked, and walked, and walked some more!  We stopped for a pizza lunch, which was delicious, then continued walking to the mall.  After shopping for a little while, we went and sat in the town center.  I almost fell asleep on the bench after all that walking!! I will be in much better shape when I come home if this keeps up! I didn't get as many pictures today, just three. I'm a slacker, I know!

Paul and Lumi came to pick us up, then we went shopping for groceries.  They are very good cooks and I look to eating lots of yummy food over the next few weeks!

Tomorrow we will be visiting two churches, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  That's if the one in the morning finishes in time!  I'm looking forward to experiencing gypsy church again, I love it!!

Please pray that the team has smooth flights home and that we are blessed by the church services.

Day 9

Friday, June 27, 2014

Tim, Dennis, Johnathan, Ian
Terrie, Jan, Kay, Laura
Daisy, Christian, Jessica, Amanda
Today the team left.  :-(  Jessica and I got up, ate breakfast with them and then bid them farewell.  We will miss hanging out with the other half of the Hot Mess. 

The Hot Mess Girls
Jessica, Daisy, Amanda, Christian
 They will be making their way to Bucharest today and tomorrow and will fly out on Sunday.  After they left, we came to Dennis' apartment where Paul and Lumi live with their son David. This will be my home for the next three weeks.  Since we didn't have anything to do we mostly sat around and tried not to fall asleep.  I did get to use Dennis' magic-jack to call Dad and chat for a little while.  And we played with David, who is incredibly cute!! 


Around 5pm ish Ale decided to come walk us around town.  I haven't walked that much in I don't remember how long!! She took us to the town center where we sat and had a soda while watching the world go by. Then we came back a different way.  It was cool to see different parts of the city than I have seen in the past.  We got some great pictures!!



Please pray that the team travels safely home!

Day 8

Thursday, June 26, 2014


Today was the team's last day with the Roma people.  They will start their trek back to Bucharest in the morning.  We had a great day!  We finished up with the women.  Jan of course brought the Bible study then we started our rotations.  Today in beauty they did manicures.  They started with Satin Hands, then painted nails.  The ladies had lots of fun painting each others nails.  Some of them have real talent for creating little designs on nails!!  In crafts we decopaged some frames.  They got to pick some scrapbook paper that I brought then glue it to some frames Jessica brought.  I was glad to find a use for all that scrapbook paper I had sitting at home!  The ladies really enjoyed making the frames.  Jessica also taught them how to make paper flowers.  Some of the ladies didn't want to make them because they said it was too hard, but we encouraged them to try.  Most of them had got it down by the end of our time together.  We gave them a picture of themselves that we took yesterday after their make-overs.  They loved this!!  I had finally figured out how to print some pictures for Cristi so I gave them to his mom.  She choose to put the picture I had taken of her and the kids in her frame.  It made me so happy that she liked them!!


After our roations, we had a closing, then handed out groceries to the ladies.  A huge thank you goes out to Houston's First Baptist for donating money for this!!  Between the money they gave me and some money given to Jan, we were able to buy about 25 lei worth of groceries for each family.  We had tons of fun shopping for them!  The ladies were very appreciative!


Since it was the team's last night, we took the translators out to dinner.  This is a tradition that I love!  I enjoy getting to know them better in a more relaxed setting.  Between dinner and desert the "Hot Mess Girls" decided we wanted a picuture with our translators, so we all went outside and had a fun time getting some pictures!  Here are two, one of us with the translators, and one with just the boys...



After dinner we had to go back to Point of Hope to get the intern cell phone for Jessica and me.  While we were there the girls decided they wanted to go see the Gypsy school, so we walked to it.  We lucked out that the security guard was there and let us go inside.  It was interesting to me to see their school. In many ways it looked just like ours, just older.  Very cool.


As we walked through the community to get to the school, a group of kids ran up and followed us.  Many of them were trying to show me how they remembered the movements (and some of the words) from the song we did during music time.  I loved it!!  Cristi's little sister came up and hugged me, he acted all cool and wouldn't hug me.  That's ok, he followed us around grinning!  I love that kid!!!

When we got back to the hotel, Jessica and I hung out with the other half of the Hot Mess since we have to say goodbye to them tomorrow.  We are going to miss our other half!!  Lots of laughter could be heard coming from our room I'm sure!

Please be in prayer for the team as they travel back to Predeal tomorrow.  Pray that they have safe travels!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Day 7

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Today was filled with laughter! We began our work with the women of the Roma community today.  Most of them are mothers of the children that attend the school.  It was much less intimidating this year than it was last year.  Many of the women remembered Jan, Jessica, and me from last year.  They associate me with a crown, which is funny since we didn't make crowns last year.  We did make wreaths that many of them put on their heads which is what they are referring to, at least I think that's it!


The ladies waiting to start...
Jan started the morning with a Bible lesson about the proverb of the woman with a lost coin.  She talked about how we are the lost coins, and God does everything he can to find us and bring us back to Him.  It was an excellent lesson!

After the lesson, we broke into groups of 7 or 8 ladies and began our rotations.  One rotation was beauty, where they gave the ladies makeovers.  Thanks to Katie Prewitt for the donation of Mary Kay products, they loved it!!  Another rotation was health with Gabi's sister Erika.  She talked to the women about TB and how they can stay healthy.  The last rotation was crafts with Jessica, Christian, Daisy, and me.  (We joke that we are the "hot mess Texas girls"!  We're having so much fun together!)  Today's craft was a safety pin bracelet.  We had Orsi translating for us.  She is who translated crafts for me last year, so we're good friends now!  The ladies were excited to make a bracelet, they told us they loved bracelets!


Making bracelets...
After our time with the women, we were invited to visit some of their homes.  Gabi knows how much I love Christi, so she made sure I was with the group going to his home.  I was so excited to get to see where he lives.  Our group ended up being Ale, Jan, and me.  I had met Chrisit's mom earlier today during the craft time.  I had showed her some of the pictures from my first visit, and found out that she has eight kids. Last year we were able to visit a house, not the apartments behind the center.  There is a very big difference in the two.  When we first walked in I wasn't sure what to think.  The building isn't anything like what we would consider livable.  Christi's apartment was on the first floor, so we didn't have to go upstairs.  I was glad for that because the stairs didn't look all that inviting.  When we made it to the apartment I almost cried.  It is one room. ONE ROOM! For seven kids and two adults! AND, this room could fit inside my living room.  It broke my heart that this was where they lived.  They invited us in and I was able to meet most of Christi's siblings, one is older and married.  He was all smiles when we came in. As we conversed with his mom, I told her how Christi is a big part of why I came back, I loved him so much.  She said that he loved me too, that he had come home talking about me and how I had all the pictures of him. I almost cried again.  That boy has stolen a huge chunk of my heart!! He wanted to take pictures of us and then of him with some of his siblings.  One of his sisters came and snuggled up on the couch next to us and we took several selfies.  As happy as we were to hang out and get to know one another, I was brokenhearted about how they live.  I wish I could really describe it to you, but it goes beyond words.  I know I will be praying for them every day!  I know if people could experience this, there would be no problem raising the funds they need to do anything here.  So much of the time we just need to open our eyes and see the world around us.  Try to see people as God sees them, not as the world sees them.  My first visit here opened my eyes to that, but I think I had forgotten.  Hopefully this time, I will remember to be thankful for all that I have.  
Christi's mom, Christi, me, and one of his sisters


The family...


The front of the apartment...



The rest of the apartment...

Please be in prayer for Christi and his family.  Pray that they stay healthy and have their needs met.  Also pray that tomorrow goes well.  It is the last day with the Roma people for most of the team, pray that they will be comforted as they say goodbye.

Thank you for all your prayers so far, they are making our trip the best!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Day 6

Tuesday, June 24, 2014


Let me start off by saying a huge THANK YOU for all the prayers.  Everything has gone smoothly and I know that is due to God answering all YOUR prayers!  Y’all are awesome!

Now, about today… Another great day!! I know I say that every day, and I totally mean it every day! I love this country and these people so much!! Each day that I’m here I love it a little more…

Today we finished VBS with the kids.  It was bittersweet…  They had tons of fun, which made it all the more enjoyable for us.  It rained, so our game time had to be indoors, but that didn’t lessen the fun!  Even in cramped quarters the kids enjoyed the games and laughter abounded!  In music we played London Bridges, or at least a version of it, and musical chairs.  They really enjoyed dancing around and playing with us.  We had a CD of Romanian children’s music playing, we didn’t know what all of it meant, but it got stuck in our heads anyway!  It was so awesome to see them singing along to songs about running with God! 

It was sad to see them go at the end of the day, but I keep reminding myself, I’m staying for a little longer, and I’ll always be back next summer, so I will see them again.  I can’t imagine not spending a portion of my summer with these wonderful people! 


Please be in prayer for us as we begin our women’s ministry portion of our trip tomorrow.  Some of the younger girls are feeling a little intimidated by this, which I can relate to.  Jessica and I told them that we were intimidated at first too, but ended up having a marvelous time with them.  Please pray that the women will enjoy what we have planned and that the Bible lesson will take root in their hearts and show them Jesus.

Day 5

Monday, June 23, 2014

Today was the absolute best day!!  We had so much fun with the kids!  Plus, I got to see many of the kids we worked with my first year here!  And I think they remembered me!

I worked with Christian in music today, with Marcus and Jalu translating, who are some very fun guys.  We taught the kids a song from a DVD, Big House.  It has dance moves that the kids had lots of fun doing.  Some were even singing the words in English!  I was very impressed.  After that, we played a CD with some Romanian songs they knew and they taught us the movements.  It was funny how some were so much more animated than others.  Just like the kids I’ve taught back home!  Then we played a freeze game.  When the music was playing, they had to dance.  When the music stopped, they had to freeze.  They really enjoyed this part.  I can definitely say I got a workout today!! 

In the morning, we had the pre-school aged kids.  In the afternoon, we had the after-school program kids.  These ranged from 1st-5th graders.  I enjoyed the older kids more, mainly because I remembered so many of them from my first trip.  I even got to see my favorite kiddo from my first trip, Christi!  He was so grown up!  I showed him some of the pictures I had of him on my phone and he loved it!  He wanted me to print them out for him.  I’ll have to see if I can find a way to do that here, or wait till I get home and mail it back.  I took several new ones of him too, so cute!!

After VBS with the kids, a group of us went with Dennis to Bacnea, a small town close by where he has been helping the local church.  We met the preacher and his family.  Then the preacher took us to look at where they are meeting now.  It is a small house like the one the gypsy’s here in Tarnaveni meet in.  The problem is that they don’t own the property or the house.  He then took us by a couple of properties they are looking at purchasing.  I would love to get some support for this group started in the States.  I know Dennis and his church are helping, but they need more!  I could tell how much they needed and wanted a building of their own to worship God.  How awesome would it be to help them reach that goal?!?

After our visit, we drove back to Point of Hope, where the staff cooked us a traditional Romanian meal.  I wasn’t a big fan, but tried everything!  It was very nice of them to do this for us!  I think they are planning to cook for us again tomorrow night. 



Please be in prayer as we continue the VBS with the kids tomorrow.  Pray that they wouldn’t just have fun, but grow in their relationship to Christ!

Here is a link to the pictures from today.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Day 4

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Buna seara! (Good evening!)  We had an amazing day today!  We started the morning by attending the gypsy church.  I've said before how amazing I think their services were, and today was no different.  They started by reading Psalms 139.  A few of the verses really stood out to me as incredibly relevant to our trip: 

Psalms 139: 7-10
"Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

This is such a good reminder that even though we are far from home, God is with us and His hand is upon us!  One of the sermons, yes, there was more than one, focused on how we are all God's children despite the fact that we are from different nationalities and backgrounds. If only we could all really internalize this, the world would be such a kinder place!  

One of the things I love about the gypsy church is their music.  They all sing with such passion!  Even though I don't know the words to their songs, I can feel their meaning.  The teenagers sang two songs for us that were lovely.  I videoed a portion of one so you can have an idea of what it was like...



Another thing they do that I adore is at several points in their service they all pray out loud at the same time.  It seems so jumbled to our ears, but to God every prayer was heard individually! 

After church, we had leisurely lunch on the hill, then drove to Targu Mures to spend some time with the girls from the group home.  Another beautiful drive through the Romanian countryside!  Once we got to TM, before we went to see the girls, we made a stop at the mall so that Tim could pick up some paint for our work project. While we waited for him, Jessica suggested we get some Hungarian Bread, so we popped over to the kiosk and Dennis bought some.  It is unlike any bread we've had so far. I don't know that I can describe it, so I'll just show you the pictures...
Otherwise known to us as Hungarian Bread...
This is how they cook it...Dennis wants to make one of these to sell the bread in TX...


The finished product, we got one covered in cinnamon and sugar.

It is hollow inside!!
Seriously good bread!!! After that, we continued to the group home.  Here we hung out for a few minutes and chatted with the girls.  It was good to catch up with them and hear about how they're doing.  Then, we all went for a walk around downtown Targu Mures.  It was an absolutely beautiful day!  I can't post pictures with the girls in them, but I will post a picture from our walk.  This is an Orthodox Church on the square.  We went inside and it was beautiful.  You can go to my Flickr account to see more pictures from today.



After our walk, we went back to the group home and had a pizza dinner with the girls.  More time to hang out and catch up with them.  Finally, we headed back to Tarnaveni.  The views along the way were breathtaking...Here is one of my favorites, I love how the sun is coming through the clouds! 



Tomorrow we start VBS with the kids at Point of Hope!  Please be in prayer that everything will go smoothly and that the kids will listen and get something from the activities.  Thank you so much for the prayers so far, we can feel them working!!

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Day 3

Saturday, June 21, 2014

We woke up to a beautiful cool morning in Predeal!!  Check out this panoramic photo from our balcony...

Cool mountain air accompanying an awesome view, can't beat that!!

I can't believe how cool the temps have been all day!  Totally not what we were expecting (based on last year's experience), but I'm LOVING it!! So refreshing after the yucky heat we've had in Houston lately.

After a leisurely breakfast, we began the conclusion of our journey to Tarnaveni.  I thoroughly enjoyed the drive, and managed to stay awake for most of it!  The Romanian countryside is absolutely stunning.  I uploaded the many pictures I took to my Flickr, go check them out!

So beautiful!! Most of the drive was views like this!

When we arrived in Tarnaveni, we quickly checked into the hotel, then headed to lunch.  Since we are such a large group, Gabi orders the food ahead of time. This means we have more of a variety and it goes a little quicker.  After lunch, we headed up to Point of Hope for orientation.  Since Jessica and I have been before, we used this time to go through the aide that was brought and organize our craft supplies.  Then, the group was introduced to the staff by playing some ice breaker games.  I was so excited to see Doamna Rita, the custodian at the center.  Last year we really bonded even though we don't speak the same language.  Sometimes, you don't need words to make a connection with someone.  I call her my Romanian grandmother.  She gave me the biggest hug today, it made me feel so loved!! ♥♥♥ After introductions, we all had some ice cream!  It was delicious! Then the staff left and we had a team meeting to discuss the plan for the week.  I will be helping out with music for VBS for the first two days.  I'm looking forward to working with Christian, one of the girls from Burnet, on the music, she has lots of fun sounding ideas!!

Finally, we headed back to the hotel and walked to dinner.  We were all amazed when it was served on fire!!  We all had to take a picture of course!
Flaming Food!!
Now we are back at the hotel, getting ready for bed...  Tomorrow we are visiting the Roma church. I'm super excited about this!! We visited this church my first year and it was so refreshing.  Their love for Christ was evident, even though I couldn't understand anything they were saying.  I can't wait to experience this again!

Please be in prayer for our team, that we would say what God wants us to say and that He will use us to further His kingdom!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Days 1 & 2

Thursday, 6/19/14 & Friday 6/20/14

Travel Days...

Well, we made it safely to Romania!! The flights were smooth and uneventful.  I didn't get much sleep on the planes, I never really do.  We were picked up at the airport by Eddie and Libertus, two volunteers for Point of Hope.  Since the rest of the team wasn't going to arrive for several hours, we went ahead and headed towards Predeal, where we are spending the night.  Dachi, the director of PoH, stayed with the van and trailer to bring the second half of the team.  They should be arriving in a few hours.

On our way, we stopped at a gas station to get some drinks.  I discovered a yummy fruit tea! I think I'll have a lot of this while I'm here.
They also had Dr. Pepper!! I got one, since they aren't very common, and you never know if you'll find them again...

As we drove through the countryside and into the mountains, I was reminded how much I love this country!! It is so beautiful!!  




I won't upload all of my pictures here, but you can check them all out on my flicker.

Please be praying for safe travels tomorrow, as we drive the rest of the way to Tarnaveni.  

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

T-Minus Less than 24 Hours!!!

In less than 24 hours I will be boarding a plane headed to Romania!! I can't believe the day is almost here!!  I'm super excited!

Before then, there is still so much left to do.  I feel like I haven't stopped for a moment since I woke up!  I started packing, and quickly realized that I'm going to have a hard time getting it all to fit.  It is hard to know what all to take when I'll be there for so long.  While packing, I discovered that my camera has gone missing!  Those who have followed my past trips know that I take a LOT of pictures, so a missing camera caused me to panic slightly!  Ok, I panicked a little more than slightly, then I took a breath, and called my dad.  He had called earlier this morning to tell me he had decided to come to town to take me to dinner, so I asked if I could borrow his camera.  He didn't have it with him, but was willing to drive home before coming here to get one.  I felt bad about all that extra driving, so I texted a friend of mine who is a photographer and collects cameras, and he is being kind enough to loan me one.  Isn't that awesome?!?  I'm thanking God for small miracles! I've run all my errands, and now just have to make all my stuff fit in my suitcase. Thankfully all the materials I ordered online for our crafts arrived in time, though I was quite worried about the safety pins.  Thank goodness for God answering prayer!

I'm about to check in online for my flight, finish packing, then go meet dad for dinner.  Later this evening, my wonderful friend Rebecca is coming to pick up Snickers.  I'm dreading this.  Not that I don't trust her with Snick, just that I'm going to miss that fur ball so very much!  I've been trying to get in all the snuggles I can.  She'll probably be relieved to get away from me for a few days. Then, hopefully she'll miss me too.  But, she's a cat, so who knows how they think.

Please be in prayer that everything will fit in the suitcases, and that I won't accidentally leave anything behind.  Pray that our team from Burnet has a safe drive in tomorrow morning, and that our flights are on time and smooth.  Many of you know, I'm not the biggest fan of flying, so pray that I stay calm, cool, and collected!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

One Week From Today

I can't believe that one week from today I will be boarding a plane headed to Romania!! I'm getting more and more excited each day!

Yesterday I bought supplies for the crafts we will be doing.  It's never safe to let me loose in a craft supply store...but I did good and only bought things I needed for the crafts.  I didn't even let myself wander around!!

Our first craft will be a hair comb, prettied up! Here is my example...no judging! ;-)


Next, they will choose to do one of two bracelet options.  One is a wrap bracelet, and the other is a safety pin bracelet.  Here are my examples...



Next on my list is to start packing, ahh!  Packing for a month just seems so overwhelming! Maybe I should get started...

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

T-Minus 10 Days!!!

I can't believe I leave in ten days!!! There is so much to do, I'm not even sure where to start!

We found out a few weeks ago what we would be doing while the first team is there (the first ten days.)  Our first Sunday, we will be attending the Roma church.  I can't wait to experience this again!  We were able to attend this church on my first visit to Romania, and it was unforgettable. I wasn't sitting close enough to a translator to understand what was going on, but their love for Christ was clear.  Oh, how I hope that is how we come across when worshiping! 


The first two days working at Point of Hope will be filled with VBS with the after-school program kids. Our team members from Burnet are leading this, so I just get to participate and play with the kids. In the evenings, we will be working on painting a mural in one of the rooms. I'm hoping this is a tracing project as I have no art skills! 

The next two days we will be working with the women of the community. Since this is what we did last year, Jessica, Jan, and I are taking the lead. We will have a Bible study time and then some rotations. We are still working out some of the details of the rotations. Jessica and I have been working on ideas for the craft rotation.  We know one day will be decorating a frame, and we're thinking of doing a bracelet for the other day.

That about wraps up the first week! Then the team will head home, while Jessica and I stay behind. Jessica is staying for another week, so I will have some company that first week without the team. Right now I'm not sure what I will be doing for the remainder of my trip, but, I have a call planned with Tim, the director of ACF, on Wednesday. Hopefully he will be able to give me some idea of what I'll be doing. 

I'm so excited, and slightly overwhelmed! The idea of packing to be out of the country for 30 days is just a little scary! But, I know God is in control and everything will work out as He has planned!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Romania Again!!


Want to help more kids like this?? Read on...
Dear Friends and Family,
                I hope that your year is going well so far!  I can’t believe it is already May!! This school year has flown by.  I have a wonderful group of kids this year and have really enjoyed teaching them.  As many of you may know, I am headed back to Romania this summer.  I will be going to work with the same group of people that I’ve worked with the two previous times I went.  I can’t wait to be back!
                While in Romania, I work with Another Child Foundation and Buckner Romania.  They have opened the Point of Hope Center in Tarnaveni, a small town about five hours north of Bucharest.  At Point of Hope they work with at risk children and families by offering education in a Biblical context, meals, clean clothes, showers, and love.  We are working to break down generational prejudices against the Roma people.  Such prejudices make it difficult for the Roma people to get jobs, medical care, and housing.  Another goal of ours is to keep families together by supporting the family unit.  Early education at the Point of Hope Center is vital to help the Roma children compete with their non-Roma peers and to break the cycle of poverty.  In a community where families live in Soviet Era apartments, that we would consider condemned, Another Child Foundation provides hope and opportunities through support.  Personally, on my first trip, I worked with the school aged children doing Vacation Bible School.  I was blown away by how much they love God, even though they have so little in terms of possessions.  They loved to play and learn about Jesus!  Last year, I worked with the women of the community.  They are the mothers of the children served at Point of Hope.  We did Bible Study, cooking classes, beauty classes, and crafts.  They started the week somewhat reserved, but by the end of the week they were laughing and joking with us and with each other.  You could tell that God had brought them together!  Again, their love for God despite their circumstances just amazed me.  How many of us, when faced with poverty, hungry children that we couldn’t feed, and spouses who couldn’t work, would still praise God?  They have so little, but love God so very much.
                By now I hope you’re wondering how you can help.  There are many ways!  First, and most importantly, I need your prayers.  Pray that everything travel-wise will go smoothly, that the people will be open to hearing God’s word, and that I am able to do and say all that God has planned for me.  My desire is to be a beacon shining them towards Jesus.  Secondly, if you are able, I am in need of financial support.  My airfare has been paid for, but I still need $2500 to cover the costs of staying there for a month.  I trust that God will provide, as He always has in the past.  If you are able and willing to help, you may log on to the Another Child Foundation website: http://www.anotherchild.org/donatepage/ Fill out the donation information and put my name in the comments box to make sure it goes to my trip.  Lastly, you can help in our drive for some very specific humanitarian aid.  Point of Hope has sent us a list of their most needed items right now: new shoes for children ages 3 to 14; new or gently worn jeans for children ages 3 to 14; and new or gently used blankets.  I would be happy to meet you to pick up these items, or you can mail them to me.  We are collecting until the end of July, as the container will be shipped in early August.  Please be in prayer to see how God might use you to help these amazing people!
                I appreciate any support that you are able to give.  I can’t wait to be there serving our risen Lord and King, Jesus!