Romania 2015- Day 18

Day 18- June 30, 2015

Wow, another awesome day!!!  Thankfully, not quite as long or as tiring as yesterday, but still jam packed!!  Just looking at today’s pictures made me tear up, I love these people SO much!!  It was obvious that God was with us today.

This morning Kim did the devotional with the women.  She was super nervous and self conscious about what she had planned to say.  She had a hard time getting the first part out without crying, but that just showed the women how passionate she was about what she was talking about.  Several of them said it showed how much she loved God.  Her devotional was about God being there with you all the time to help you get past your fears and doubts.  It was clear that God was standing beside her giving her strength and showing His greatness through her words.  I know the women were touched and I was as well.  It was a great reminder to rely on God, especially when you feel doubtful of yourself and your abilities.  It reminds me of the saying, “If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.”  

After devotional we started our rotations.  Today in beauty we focused on our faces.  Before we got into doing anything to our faces, I shared another devotional I found online.  I talked about how our society and world in general puts a lot of pressure on women to be beautiful.  We are sold all kinds of products to “make” us beautiful.  But true beauty cannot be found by using these products.  It is found when we seek God and let the Holy Spirit into our soul.  Then true beauty radiates from us.  You can find the full devotional here.  I’ve been blessed to find a devotional that says exactly what I want it to, but way better than I could say on my own.  I know that God is watching over this time because He knows I really want to pour into these women.  After we discussed what true beauty meant, we pampered our faces.  We started by using a Mary Kay face wash with exfoliates to really get our faces clean.  Then we added some color with some eye shadow and lipstick.  They had so much fun!!  I’m so thankful to Katie Prewitt for her generous donation of Mary Kay products, she is AMAZING!!! They’ve loved using it all!!!

At the end of rotation time, I ate lunch with the women.  It was nice to extend our time together!  Then I had a short break before getting ready for afternoon VBS.  I am so thankful for Kristian and Brett who took over activities with the English lesson kids this week so I could have a break between women’s ministry and VBS!  They did a great job today!!!

Around 2:30 the VBS madness started!  I had two new kiddos in my group today, which brought us to 16.  The schedule changed just a bit so that they could go to snack to get something to drink after being outside.  Our first rotation was still indoor games.  Before we split, John Frank (leader of the Louisiana team) came up and did a game called Arooshtasaw (I have no idea if that’s how you spell it, he made the word up).  He has done this with them for years, so they all call it out when they see him.  I can’t even describe this game to you; I’ll have to try to video it tomorrow.  After that, we split into two groups.  One played Ping-Pong or darts and the other was with Michael and Gelu playing a game I didn’t catch the name of.  The point seemed to be to stand up without the person who was “it” seeing you, then to tag them.  Then you become “it.”  I missed the instructions, but that’s what I caught from watching it for a few minutes. 

Second, we went outside for outside games.  They played a game called Ships and Sailors.  The Captain (Brett and Conner) calls out situations and the kids have to do the correct action.  For example: if they call out “man overboard” each kid has to find a partner.  One of them gets down on one knee and the other puts a foot on the first one’s back, then they both put a hand over their eyes like they are scanning the horizon.  If you don’t do the right action or find the right number of people you’re out.  The kids had a great time playing!  After a round of that, they were able to free play with some soccer balls and hula-hoops.

Third, we went back inside to have snack/computer time.  A nice break after being out in the sun!  While the kids were eating their snack, Meagan made balloon animals for them.  They loved it!!

Fourth, we went to crafts.  The craft today was a bookmark that they got to color.  Once they finished coloring their bookmark, they got to get their face painted.  So fun!!!

Fifth, we went to Bible.  The lesson today was about God helping us overcome our fears.  Dan talked about David and Goliath and we read the 23^rd Psalm.  Then they colored a picture of David and Goliath. 

Lastly, we went to music.  They had fun singing and marching along to the music.  I didn’t recognize the first song, but the second one was “I’m in God’s Army!”  It took me a bit to recognize it, but I finally did!!  After singing and marching to two songs, they played hot potato to music.  I was in control of the music, hehehe!  Then we played musical chairs.  Alina won! So fun!!

After VBS we fed the kids dinner.  We took three groups into the café at a time to eat.  It blessed my heart to see them all bow their heads and pray before eating!! When the older kids ate, Cristi lead the prayer.  (Insert the proudest emoji ever!!)  Love my boy!!!!

Once we had fed all the VBS kids, we took the extra food downstairs and began feeding as many people as we could.  I think we handed out about 150 plates of food to anyone who came up.  Here is another time it was obvious that God was with us today.  It was looking very dark and rainy so we weren’t sure many people would show up to get food.  When one of the translators asked Gabi what we would do if it rains, she said, “It won’t rain until we’re done, God’s watching over us.”  And He was.  It rained further in Tarnaveni, just down the street, but not on us!  We had a few drops right as we finished, but not enough to matter.  God knew those people needed that meal! 

My heart is so full tonight!  I love these people and this place so much!! And I love seeing God working here!  Please be in prayer for tomorrow as it is our last day with the women.  Pray that we can impact them and show them Jesus.  Also please pray that VBS again goes smoothly and everyone has another great day!

This is Alin, will you pray for him?  Just imagine the impact if everyone would pray for these kiddos!!

Romania 2015- Day 17

Day 17- June 29, 2015

Whew, am I tired!! It was such a busy day!!! But a GREAT day!!!

We started the morning with two activities: VBS with the pre-school kids and Women’s Ministry.  Since I have worked with the women for the past few summers (and LOVE it), Gabi asked if I would work with them again.  I of course said YES!!! We followed the same kind of schedule we have in the past: all meet together for the devotional, then split into three rotations.  Lisa (one of the team members from Louisiana) led the devotional.  She talked about how God is with us at all times.  She shared a personal story with the ladies that I think really touched them.  It was a blessing to me for sure!

Then we split into our rotations: craft, beauty, and activity.  Now I know you’re probably guessing I was in crafts, but you would be wrong!  Surprising, I know!  I was actually in the beauty rotation as I had an amazingly generous friend donate some Mary Kay items for me to bring to use with the women.  Today’s beauty treatment focused on the hands.  Before we did anything, I talked with them women about what our hands say about us.  I found this great devotional online that I paraphrased.  I talked about what kind of hands I would like to have: compassionate, merciful, productive, prayerful, strong, and most important, loving.  We then pampered our hands!  We started with the Satin Hands routine.  They LOVED it!!! They loved how soft it made their hands and how good it smelled.  Then we painted our nails.  I even painted a couple ladies’ nails!  I was sure to concentrate really hard so I wouldn’t mess them up like I mess up my own!  It was fun to spend time with them and catch up! 

After the Women’s Ministry, I went to help with the English lesson kids.  I had half outside for games, while Kaitlin and Victoria had the other half inside for English lessons.  Kristian and Brett, our newest interns, came outside to help me with the games.  We started with head, shoulders, knees, and toes, but had to quickly move on as they are getting tired of it!  Then we played two rounds of red light, green light; a round of duck, duck, goose; then moved on to a Romanian game that I can’t remember the name to.  The kids all stand in the middle and we were around the edges.  We throw a ball to one another trying to hit the kids in the middle.  It had something to do with hunting I think.  Whatever it was called, they had tons of fun playing!  After the first group, I went inside to eat and Brett and Kristian took over. 

The afternoon is when it got really crazy busy and tiring!  We hosted VBS for about 100 kids in Point of Hope.  We had 6 rotations; you read that right, 6!!!  I was a group leader, so I took my group of kids to all 6 rotations.  We started at indoor games.  This was lead by Michael, Emily, and Gelu.  Here they split the group of 14 into two groups of 7.  Half played four square and the other half played ping pong and darts.  About half-way through the rotation time we switched so everyone had a chance to play everything.

Our second rotation was outdoor games.  This station was lead by Brett, Conner, and Markus. We started with a game that Brett taught us.  I, again, can’t remember what it was called.  And I’m not sure I can really describe it, but it was fun.  Then we played Monkey in the Middle, a keep away game.  It’s ok to be on the outside, but I’m not a fan of being the Monkey.  L I’m so short they had no problem throwing it over my head!!

Our third rotation was Bible.  This was lead by Dan and Debo.  He did a great lesson on us all being a family of God.  He talked about how we all came from Adam and Eve, then how family helps each other through tough times. 

Our fourth rotation was crafts led by Liz and Debo’s sister, whose name is escaping me at the moment.  The craft was a wooden cross that they got to color with markers.  They had fun not only coloring the cross, but also themselves and each other!  Kids and markers…

Our fifth rotation was snack/computer time.  In with snacks was Megan and Lisa; Ale had the computer lab.  We again split them in half.  Half the time they got to sit and enjoy a snack, while the other half was spent playing on the computers.  It was a nice break from all the activity!!

Our sixth, and final rotation was music.  This was with two volunteers (whose names I don’t know yet) and Kristian.  The volunteers led the kids in several songs with hand motions. I videoed one song so you could enjoy it too, but it is too big to fit here on blogger, I'll try uploading it on Flickr or Facebook...

My group, group Yellow: Alina (my Romanian helper) Joana, Rares, Rafael, Rebecca, Me, Alexandra, Elisei, David, Flavius, Alin.  Dude in the middle is Madalin. Front row: Calin, Mircea, Angel, and Larisa

Finally, the day was over!! I was about ready to collapse!  But we still had dinner to go!  After a quick debrief and discussion about tomorrow, we headed to the restaurant.  Dinner was very delicious, I had a rib and fried cheese.  Yum!!!  Since this is such a large team, Gabi has been ordering our meals family style.  The restaurant we ate at tonight brings it out with flaming bread.  So fun!

I am at home at last and ready for a good night’s sleep!  Please be in prayer that the team rests well tonight and has the energy to tackle tomorrow!  Pray that everything goes smoothly and that I don’t mess the ladies faces up in beauty!!

Romania 2015- Day 16

Day 16- June 28, 2015

This morning I went to the Baptist church.  I really enjoy their services! 

After church I met up with the team for lunch.  It was fun getting to know some of them a little better!  We have some fun people here this week, it should be interesting!

Gabi had planned for the team to go to TM to do some sightseeing.  The interns didn’t want to go, but I decided it would be good to hang out with the team and continue getting to know them.  So off to TM we went.  When we arrived the bus dropped us off on the square (which is more a rectangle) or center of town.  As we walked down the street and up the opposite side, Gabi talked about the history of the country and city.  Even though I had heard most of it before, I enjoyed the walk and scenery.  I took a few new pictures as well…

 

The flower clock in the park that runs down the middle of the street.

I forget what this building is, but it is a government building.

A panoramic pic of the street in from of that government building.

At the end of the center is Mures Mall.  Once we had walked there, we split up for about an hour before dinner.  I went with Gabi, and some of the team members to the grocery store that is on the bottom floor of the mall.  I picked up some more croissants so I would have breakfast this week.  Then we headed upstairs to meet everyone for dinner.  We ate at KFC.  I ordered the chicken strips because that’s what I would order back home.  What I didn’t know was if you order chicken strips in Romania you get the hot chicken.  I say hot and not spicy because these went way beyond spicy!!  My mouth was on fire after just a few bites!  I managed to eat 2 I think, but the rest we ended up giving away.  (I wasn’t the only one in the group to make this mistake, so we had quite a few hot chicken strips!!)

After dinner the bus picked us up to take the team back to Tarnaveni.  Gabi and I stayed behind to run some errands.  First we stopped by her apartment to get her things for this week as she is staying at the hotel with the team.  Then we stopped by the Buckner offices to print some things for the Women’s Ministry.  Finally, we stopped at Auchan, which is kinda like a Super HEB.  There we picked up some things for the team and a few things for me. 

Around 9:45pm we finally got on the road back to Tarnaveni.  It ended up being quite a late night!!

Please be in prayer for VBS and the Women’s Ministry that begins tomorrow!

Romania 2015- Day 15

Day 15- June 27, 2015

Brrr!!! It was cold this morning in my apartment!! I love it!!  Since today is Saturday and the team hadn’t arrived yet, I got to sleep in!! It was so nice to not wake up to an alarm!!

I spent the morning being rather lazy and watching TV on my laptop.  Thanks to Swanna for showing me a website where I can watch like almost any show for free!  Too bad it doesn’t work in America…

Around 3, Gabi called to say the team had arrived and I would be picked up soon.  A little while later the van arrived and I was super excited to see Kristian get out to hug me!!  I’m so glad we are here at the same time again!  We had so much fun last summer!  We met the team at Point of Hope and started our planning for next week.  Bailey went over the VBS schedules and responsibilities.  Then Gabi and I pulled the women who will be doing the women’s ministry to another room to talk about our plans.  I’m excited about all they have planned for the week!  I will be doing the beauty rotation with some Mary Kay items that were generously donated by my friend! Please pray that I don’t mess it up, I’m not the most experienced make-up person!!

After a dinner of pizza we all went home.  I typed up the plan for the women’s ministry and played around on facebook and such.  Just a relaxing evening at home!!

Please be in prayer for the team as they go to the gypsy church in the morning.  Pray that they soak up the experience and feel God’s presence.  After church we are headed to TM, so please pray for traveling mercies and that everyone will have a good time!   

Romania 2015- Day 14

Day 14- June 26, 2015

Today was a rainy, cold day!  I don’t remember it ever being this cold while I was here!  At least not all day, maybe for a bit in the mornings or evenings, but never all day.  Because of the rain, only 3 littles came to pre-school this morning.  So instead of doing VBS with them, we just hung out and played.  The girls interviewed some of them for the ACF blog.  By the way, be looking forward to those posts!  They will be introducing you to some of the kids served at Point of Hope!  While we were hanging out, I took the opportunity to try and improve my Romanian.  I had asked for a journal to take notes last week, but hadn’t had a chance to do anything yet.  Today I had one of the teachers write the Romanian alphabet and teach me the sounds.  Gabi keeps telling me Romanian is a very phonetic language, I keep saying your letters don’t make the same sounds our do!  So, I’m learning their sounds.  Most are only slightly different, but some are very different.  For instance, instead of using “st” for the st sound, they use a t and put a little tail on it.  You just have to know to make that noise when the tail is there.  They also have a tail for the s, and three different noises an A can make depending on what is above it.  I’ve already found it easier to read words correctly!  Well, Gelu saw what I was doing and decided he would be my Romanian teacher.  But instead of just giving me some basic phrases, he wants to start at the beginning and make sure I use correct grammar.  I’m more of the thought, I don’t care about grammar, if I can get enough out that they know what I’m talking about I don’t care if I sound like a five year old! ;-) But I appreciate the help and will do what I can to learn as much as I can!

After lunch we had the English lesson kids.  While Kaitlin and Victoria had half of them in the English lesson, I took the other half for games.  Since it was STILL raining, we had to play inside.  We started with Simon says, but in English so they could practice!  Then we played Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.  Gelu says I only like that game because I want to laugh at them.  Well…it is pretty funny to watch!  But they have fun too!!!

After that they were a little wound up, so we played the Graveyard game.  Now, I don’t know if you’ve heard of this game, but it is the BEST GAME EVER!!! I learned about it my first trip to Romania.  (Jessica learned it as Sleeping Lions, same concept, nicer name.)  To play, the kids have to lay on the ground and pretend to be dead.  Meaning they can’t move or make any noise!  (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used this game in my classroom on noisy days!)  If they move or make noise they’re out.  The last one “dead” wins the game.  I’m not sure why, but they love it!!! I know why I love it! ;-)

We played a few rounds of Graveyard then decided to end our time with musical chairs.  I think no matter how old you get, musical chairs is always fun!

Gabi arrived this afternoon and we helped her go shopping for the things the team will need.  (They’ve landed safely in Romania and will be here in Tarnaveni tomorrow afternoon.)  Then we sat and talked about a plan for the week.  In the mornings I will be helping with the women’s ministry.  I am so excited about this!  When we first were told we would be working with the women three summers ago, I was disappointed that I wasn’t working with the kids.  But after three summers with them, I love them as much as I love their kids!! It didn’t feel right to be here and not do anything with them!  In the afternoons I will be a group leader for the neighborhood VBS.  We will have about 100 kids coming to Point of Hope for VBS!  We were supposed to do it out on the hill like last year, but because of the rain, it has been moved inside for at least Monday and Tuesday.  It is going to be a busy week!!

Please be in prayer for the team as they travel from Bucharest to Tarnaveni.  Also please pray that God prepares our hearts for this week!

Since I didn't take a picture yesterday, here is the library!!

Romania 2015- Day 13

Day 13- June 25, 2015

Today was a very relaxed day.  Bailey had some friends in town who work with a mission in another city here in Romania.  So there were lots of adults around to help out.  It is also a very rainy day here, so we only had 6 little kids show up this morning.  Since there were more adults than kids, Jessica and I decided to hang out in headquarters and take care of some logistical stuff.  It was stuff that needed to get done, but not quite as fun as working with the kiddos!!

After lunch, Laura asked us to start going through some books for the new library.  You know the one we built shelves for last week?  Did I tell you about that??  There’s been so much; I don’t even remember what I put on the blog and what I didn’t!  I try to get everything in, but you know my memory isn’t the best.  Anyway, we sorted the books into English and Romanian.  Then we sorted the English books into adult and kids books.  Finally, we put those sets in alphabetical order and wrote a list of what books they have.  Mr. Libero is adding to the shelves to make them taller, so we can’t put them in the actual library yet, but will when he finishes. 

This evening I went over to Paul and Lumi’s to hang out with Jessica until it was time for her to leave.  It was sad to say goodbye!

Please be in prayer for Jessica’s safe return home. Also please be praying for the next team which is arriving tomorrow.

Romania 2015- Day 12

Day 12- June 24, 2015

This morning we helped Bailey with the music rotation.  Of course we started with a dance party to get our wiggles out!  So fun! Then we practiced two songs that we hope to have the kids sing as a concert for the teachers. We practiced each song once with just our voices, and then we practiced each song again, but added instruments.  It was so cute to watch them play and sing! 

After our VBS rotations, we had lunch.  It was Sarmale day, so I was very thankful for my peanut butter! Then we had our afternoon break, where we mainly just hung out and chatted.  I enjoyed looking out the window at the community...

When the big kids arrived in the afternoon we split them into two groups.  The interns had tested their English ability to split them into a low and high group.  While the interns took one group and taught English, I took the other group and played games.  First we played red light/ green light.  I would only say red and green in English so they could practice those words.  Each round I told them how they could move.  For the first round they had to walk like their feet weighed a ton, then they skipped, then the crab walked, and so on.  They really seemed to enjoy it! 

After a few rounds of red light/ green light, we switched to a new game: head, shoulders, knees, and toes.  I’m not sure if that is its real name, but that’s what I decided to call it.  The kids make an inside circle and an outside circle.  The person across from them is their partner.  When I say go, the two circles walk in different directions.  When I say stop, they have to freeze.  Then I say two body parts (such as head and elbow).  The two partners have to find each other and touch those body parts- one’s head touches the other’s elbow.  This was a hilarious game, which we WILL be playing again.  They had tons of fun!!!

Once all the kids had left, Gabi took me to my apartment to drop of my new fridge!! I’m so excited to have cold water to drink!! And ICE!!! Then we headed back to Point of Hope to pick up Jessica and then go to TM.  Daci drove us back to TM, and I must say, he’s the fastest driver I’ve ever ridden with!! It was a little like a roller coaster!!  In TM, we headed to Buckner Romania’s office and made cards for the kids and women to bring to get in next week.  Then Gabi took us to BauMaxx (the Romanian Home Depot) to get some sticky stuff to hang the mural.  Then we went to the mall to shop a little and have dinner.  After a yummy dinner Gabi took us to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Tarnaveni.

All in all, another GREAT day!!

Please be in prayer for Jessica’s last day tomorrow.  She will be headed to Bucharest tomorrow evening to fly out early Friday morning.  Pray for safe travels and comfort as she says goodbye to everyone here.