Almost done

I can't believe that today is my last night in Romania, where has the time gone?! Looking back, it is amazing to see how God has been working in the lives of the orphans as well as in my life! Leaving the girls is so incrediably hard, even harder than last summer, thankfully the story doesn't end here. Yesterday during debriefing, we were asked to think of three words to describe our summer. Now it is impossible to describe everything that happened in three words but it sure sums it up pretty well. My words were; RELATIONSHIPS, PRAYER, and HOPE. I chose relationships because returning a second time, it was spent continuing the relationships that were already started. I thought that it would be easier returning since we had already been through the superficial stage of getting to know each other, however easy wouldn't be the way I would describe it. Although I was able to pick up a little bit more Romanian, the language barrier seemed to be a bigger hurdle this summer. I wanted to go deeper, wanted to intiate discussion about their lives and the goodness of God!! There wasn't always a translator around when needed and the few words I know seemed to be too simple for what I wanted to convey. Yet that doesn't stop God from working, and there were exciting discussion moments and even just returning was a huge deal to them. God also taught me a lot about the power of prayer; it was so amazing to see the prayers from last summer that were answered!! There were changes in the girls, small steps maybe, but definatly able only through the work of God!! He reminded me that I can't take the burdens of these kids onto my own shoulders but to bring it all to him, to lay it at His feet because He is the only one who has the power to heal!! And hope. A week and a half ago I recieved the devastating news that my cousin Rosanna's husband was killed in a car accident. My heart was weeping for the pain that Rosanna is going through, I was constantly praying that she would find comfort in His arms. That mixed with saying goodbye to the kids made for quite the emotional week. However throughout this month he had been showing me glimpses of hope. Hope in the promises, that He will remain faithful to his childern. That he will comfort the brokenhearted. I saw a lot of pain. Stories that I never wanted to hear. Sometimes I felt as though we should give up because we weren't making a difference, felt that progress could not be seen. Yet it was in those moments that he brought a glimpse of hope, a child's word of thanks, little things to show me that He is indeed working. PRAISE GOD!! There is so much more I could write about and maybe I will yet, if you want to know more or have any questions I would love to hear from you. Hopefully I can post some pictures when I get home in the next couple of days. Thank you so much for all who were praying, if you could continue to pray for the girls at the orphanage that would be awsome. Also my cousin will continue to need an abundance of prayer at this incrediably difficult time.

We stand and lift up our hands,
for the joy of the Lord is my strength,
we bow down, we worship you now,
how great, how awsome is He

Sweet times in sweet places

Buna zewa!!
I can't believe that I have been here for two weeks already!! Time has flown by!! Program is going well with the kids even though there are times of frustration. Yesterday was a bit of a trying day because the director of the orphanage told us to take all the kids for the whole day. This is a problem because normally we take the younger girls in the morning and do more a serious bible study with the older girls in the afternoon. So, needless to say it has been challenging trying to redesign our day. It's also so much more difficult trying to control twice the number of kids, one on one time seems to be almost impossible!! However it is clear to see that God is working despite the difficulties, I have been able to have a couple of deeper conversations with one of the girls!! It is also awsome to see how they notice that we treat them different than what they are used to, that even when they test our boundaries, they keep coming back, longing to simply be near us!! We did a skit about the story of Hosea yesterday and it was exciting to see how attentive they were and seemed to grasp the concept of forgiveness that we were trying to portray!! I also love to hear them sing!! Those are the most beautiful moments, off-key and all, because praising God is the most beautiful sound to His ears!!

I'm here!!

I arrived in Romania on Friday!! We had the weekend of orientation in the capital of Romania, Bucharest. Through that we were able to bond together as a team, learn what our assignment was, and learn a little bit abouty what to expect in the coming month. I will be working in the Alexandria orphanage, which is the same one that I was at last year. We will be starting program at the orphanage in the next couple of days. Today we are doing a bunch of planning and preparing. I am so thankful to be back, my heart is overflowing with joy!! I know that there will be challenges but God has proven his faithfulness and power and through Him we can move mountains! I know that God is already working here in Romania, it's exciting to see what He has already done and I'm excited about what He is going to do in the future! Thanks to all those that are praying for me!!