Brandon is at it again....

This week we are holding another summer camp in in Rosiori but this week it is held at the high school. It is the perfect place for camp because there are multiple classrooms with plenty of space. And thankfully the rooms have doors - which is great for keeping all the kids in! We have the games in the gym and while we were waiting for the kids Brandon was having a little fun. Here is his practice routine for his tryout for the Romanian gymnastics team. Feel free to leave your score in the comments :)

Last thursday we received a sweet gift from the kids in the orang class from our church at home! They wrote us sweet notes of encouragement! Thank you orange class for your encouragement and kindness!!

Week 1 - Summer Camps

We have spent the past week in Rosiori (pronounced Row-shore) holding a summer camp for a group of 30 girls from the girls orphanage in Alexandria. The set up of this orphanage is similar to the orphanage in Rosiori. They have a few kids divided into different apartments. From what I have seen so far this divided apartment living has a lot of benefits for the kids. The apartments feel more home-y, and the kids seem to learn more about helping each other out. As opposed to having 60-80 kids in one area with limited supervision. Almost all of the girls we were working with had some kind of disability or some kind of special need including speech impediments, cleft lips and pallets, behavioral problems and cognitive impairments. But they were all very well behaved and were excited to come to camp with us.

The girls were divided into two groups of 15. The first group came on Monday & Tuesday and the second group came on Wednesday & Thursday. The theme for this VBS summer camp was Kingdom Rock. It is a really great curriculum with lots of great bible stories, activities and crafts. April, one of the H2H summers interns, was the MC for the summer camps. She welcomed the girls every morning, participated in the opening skits and read the daily bible point and memory verse. She spoke in English and one of the H2H staff translated everything to the kids. They all did such a great job, the girls really enjoyed the skits and learning the motions for the memory verses. 

Lady April & Sir Wally - Kingdom Rock Skits

VBS Games

Some of my favorite moments from last week happened during the bible story time. The first day we talked about King David and Psalm 23. Sanda was the bible story leader and the way that she talked with the girls was so loving, intentional, peaceful and exciting. She talked about the times David felt peace and the times that he felt alone and scared but through it all God was His strength. These brought up great discussions and the girls were open and sharing about things from their own life. We also got to speak blessings over each girl. Sanda brought scented oil to rub on their hands and foreheads as we prayed over them. The room was filled with such joy and excitement. The girls could not get enough of the oil and the way it smelt. They wanted us to put it all over them. The girls of coarse did not know what I was praying over them because I did not have a translator, but I was praying that God would give them peace and understanding in the hearts. It was such a special moment. 

During that time we also prayed over a girl named Mimosa. She is very sick and was in a lot of pain. A few years ago she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and they said she does not have much more time to live. It’s by God’s grace that she has lived as long as she has. Her abdomen was very swollen and she was rocking and crying most of the day because of the pain. She grabbed my hand at the beginning of the day and placed it on her back. She hardly speaks but H2H staff told me that she feels better when someone rubs her back. So I sat with her as much as I could during the day to rub her back. During that time I was praying over her and asking God to relieve her pain and bring her joy. I was thankful that something as simple as rubbing her back could bring her at least some relief. I didn’t need any kind of special training for that, I just needed my hands. 

Blessings & Prayer

On the second day during bible study we talked about how Jesus died on the cross for us. For all the bad things we have done and will do. Sanda asked the girls if they had ever done anything wrong and their answers were so humble. They talked about how they fight with each other and beat each other up, some girls talked about how they do not treat the other girls very kindly. Some of the H2H staff, interns and short term team members were able to share how they make mistakes too. And the girls seemed so surprised to hear that. I think it was very freeing for them to know that we did not view our selves as better than them. It was a great reminder for them and for the team members that we are all human and that God has grace on all of us. And that He does not love some more than others. His love is deep. At the beginning of the lesson Sanda had everyone write their name on a small piece of paper. After we talked about how God died on the cross for all of us she had each girl come to the front and place their name on a large wooden cross. It was very moving to see all of the names on the cross.  It was a great visual for the girls.

                 

The Cross & The Girls

I assisted Rebecca in the mission station. We explained what a missionary is and how we can be a missionary at home or far away. During the first 2 days our focus was Mexico and the other 2 days were Africa. Rebecca had a powerpoint presentation about each country filled with facts and pictures about each place. On the first day in the mission station we made bracelets for kids in Mexico and little cards to tell them that we are praying for them. And on the third day we hand sewed tiny purses for the kids in Africa along with a card. The girls were so selfless when they were preparing these small gifts. And they were excited to be able to give them something to encourage them and let them know they are cared for. It really amazed me how well they were able to sew. We were thinking that the craft might be a little to difficult and take too much time. But it was just the right fit for them.

Mission Station - Purse Sewing

At the end of the week we traveled back to Bucharest to help with the summer camps that they were holding at the orphanage in Volentari (pronounced Vol-in-tarr). The set up for this camp was similar to the one in Rosiori but at the end of the week they took groups of 10-11 kids to the team house to go swimming. This is such a special treat for the kids because they do not go swimming often. And most of them do not know how to swim. We definitely had our work cut out for us when we were swimming with them. We had to have 3 adults in the swimming pool at all times along with about 5-6 other people either in the pool or around the edge. It was a sight to see. Some kids were very timid and were very unsure about getting in the water while others could not wait to jump in. I was swimming with a small boy named Darius who is about 4 or 5 years old. The water was chilly and he did not want to get in. But I walked him slowly to the deep end until he got use to the water and then the fun began. He started off with 2 floaty rings around his waist and water wings on his arm. And the more comfortable he got in the water the more floaties he took off. And then I persuaded him to jump into the water. Once he realized that we would catch him and pull him out of the water no matter what, there was no turning back. And that is what he did for the next 2 hours. The same thing happened with a lot of the other kids too... sometimes even when we were not watching them. 

Swimming Party

As I said before, we definitely had our work cut out for us!  Towards the end of the pool party Darius grew very fond of one of the short term team members named Taylor. Taylor would follow Darius around the pool as he would jump and he would pull him out and Darius thought it was the best thing in the world. It was so fun to watch their trust in us grow and that was a big step for some of them. It took a lot of courage for them to even jump in the water. One boy wanted so badly to jump in the deep end but when he got to the edge he would bend his knees and then he would freeze up and start shaking because he was so freighted. So he would try again and the same thing would happen. So we cheered him on and reassured him that we would be there to catch him. And we cheered even louder when he finally gained the courage to jump in. I love these sweet moments with the kids. God has been showing me something through every interaction we have with the them. About trust, faith, courage and about love. I am so thankful for all the opportunities He continually gives me to see Him and know Him more.

Darius & Taylor

Our time here has been so amazing. We have been through some much already and we still have 1 month to go. I am praying that these next few weeks will not pass by too quickly. God has given us great friendship here with the kids and with all the H2H staff, interns and short term team members. I am sad to say that one of the summer interns, April, will be going home on wednesday. I am thankful for the time that God has given us together, but I will miss her very much! 

Thank you for all of your support and for your prayers. We are thankful to have such great family and friends who encourage us and support us

in following God where ever He leads!

Prayer Requests

There are 3 more weeks of summer camps - so we are praying that God will give us wisdom and strength to teach and encourage all the kids.

For continued unity through out the team members

And that we will continue to seek God and follow Him in all that we do.

Love-

Brandon & Becky

Food, Cherries & a Banquet

Food

For the past few weeks I have been taking pictures of some of the meals we have here. All of it is pretty normal, nothing too crazy. But I thought I would show you anyways :)

Tochitura - (pronounced toe-ca-tour-a) Polenta with beef and sauce

Pastries

Chicken & vegetable soup

Slata de Vinete - grilled eggplant spread with onions and mayonnaise

Homemade cherry cobbler

Apple pie flakey pastry with ice cream and cherry sauce

Schnitzel with french fries and tomato cucumber salad

Curry chicken with rice

Sweet bread

Chicken with potatoes

Papanasi - (pronounced papa-nawsh) Savory doughnut served with sour cream and jam

Cinnamon sugar muffins

Salad

Shwarma - Romanian Fast food: pita wrap, french fries, chicken, pickles, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers and garlic sauce.

Cherry Picking

On Monday night Brandon and I and the 2 other interns got to spend the night at the girls transition home in Snagov. Tuesday the short term team that is visiting went to Sania to visit the Peles (pronounced Pell-ish) Castle and to do some touristy things. And since we already went to the Peles Castle we got to spend the day with Josh and Missy - a couple that is serving long term here. They had to do some house cleaning, yard work and cherry picking. Brandon and Josh mowed the lawn and did some weeding in the garden. While Missy and I did the cherry picking. But Missy and I could only get so far since we are both short. So we recruited Brandon to climb high in the tree to get the cherries from the top. It was a lot of fun. After the yard work was complete we washed & pitted the cherries to make the cherry cobbler that I showed you above. It was delicious!!

Becky reaching for cherries

Brandon up in the tree

School Banquet

Today was the last day of school here in Romania. And we were invited to attend an end of the year banquet that they hold for the kids at the Peris orphanage. H2H has an orchestra class with some of the kids there - Biola University donated instruments, stands and other need equipment to hold the class. So the orchestra preformed one song and three of the kids preformed solos. Then there was some singing and they put on a play - this year it was The Jungle Book. The kids did a great job. The teacher in charge was very creative with their costuming. The elephants had large paper ears and a tie around there head and hanging down the middle of their face for their nose. I was thankful to just observe their excitement. After the skit some of the teachers handed out awards. Our whole team took on the role of the parents - we cheered and yelled and took tons of pictures and we were all so proud of our kids. I loved getting to support them all in that way. I was praying that they would feel special and loved. Right before some of the performances some of the kids would run up to me and remind me to take pictures of them and others that were not preforming would snuggle close in my lap awaiting their turn. Some of those kids in my lap were 15 years old. This is still a strange concept to me because if I was at youth group in America there is no way any of the 15 year old boys would be sitting any where near me let alone sitting in my lap. But I loved having that time with each of them. God has been growing some really great friendships.

Prayer Requests

~For direction and clarity on how to encourage all the kids.

~I am praying for protection for all the kids - physically, emotionally and spiritually. I am still praying Psalm 119 over them.

~For direction and ideas for summer camps. Summer camps will be held the first three weeks in July.

Love, Brandon & Becky

A little Romanian History & Activities

I have been planning on writing a nice little post on the history of Romania, but every time I try to write something my lack of knowledge and understanding of Romania is blatantly obvious. But I think I can manage telling you a few facts. Romania use to be a communist country run by a man named Nicolae Ceausescu. He had an education of a 4th grader. He had crazy ideas about what he thought Romania should be run and he wasted a lot of time, money, resources and even lives trying to full fill what he thought was best. Here are a few examples - He ordered the construction of a man made lake because he wanted to be a country with major shipping harbors. So he ordered people out of their homes and they built a lake over their land. One obvious reason this did not work is because this new lake was not located near any other body of water. He also ordered the construction of multiple large factories that he said would provide jobs and products. So the factories were built and Ceausescu was impressed by there size and ability but once he left the factories were immediately shut down because no one knew how to run them. During this time people were relocated from their houses into new apartment style living called block buildings. The block houses were “free” to live in but they were very small and not suitable for living. They were basic cinder block buildings with no insulation, no heating or air, no electricity and no plumbing which meant no bathrooms. 

The government had control of the food and people were given food tickets in order to receive their families portion. But most of the food centers were not given enough food so people would stand in line over night to get there food before it ran out. Ceausescu wanted Romania to become a world power and he thought the best way to achieve this was by having a large army. So he required women to have 5 children so he could start building his army. Ceausescu then started the orphanages and told the people that if they brought their children to him he would take care of them. So thousands of children were taken to orphanages all over Romania and were forgotten. His idea of building an army was not well thought out - he did not provide enough food, supplies, space or workers to care for the children.
A lot of these issues came to light after the revolution in 1989, but they were not fixed over night. The orphanages now are a much better place than they were in the 70’s and 80’s but they are still lacking in basic needs for the kids. But Heart to Heart International has been stepping in to meet some of the needs that they are lacking. In the orphanages they have reading classes, music classes, youth group and character class (like youth group for the younger kids). All of these classes provide a positive place for the kids to grow and learn. They teach a lot of basic life lessons that most people would learn from their parents. 

Last week we took 16 kids from the reading classes on a field trip into the city. A church donated enough money for each of the kids in the reading class to buy 1 book and go to McDonalds for lunch. We had a great time leading the kids through the book store and spending time with them. To everyone on the street and in the store it was very apparent that these kids were orphans because of the way that they were dressed and they the way that they acted. But I could not see a difference between these kids and any other kids I know. They were happy kids who were excited to get a new book of their own and have a special lunch at McDonalds. Each team member was assigned to one kid and our job was to help them find a book that was at their reading level and be their buddy for the day. Oana (pronounced wanna) picked me out as her partner immediately and George picked Brandon and since we didn’t have enough team members for each kid, I had 2 partners! So I asked my buddy Bogdan to join me. The people at the book store were so kind and patient with all of us. And they even gave the kids some free game books and videos. The people at McDonalds were pleased to serve these kids too. They made them balloon animals and served them with a smile - even when they got a little too loud and started throwing and hitting people with their ballon animals. It was such a special day. I am thankful that we got to be a part of it. 

Me and some of the kids on the way to the book store

Brandon & George

Oana, Me, George & Bogdan

Balloon animals at McDonalds

Steven & Haley and their reading class

Sleeping on the way home

Yesterday and today Brandon and I taught a small lesson in the character classes at Peris and Voluntari orphanages. We taught 9 different classes which was about 70 kids total with ages ranging from 3-14. We talked about the life of David and how he depended on God no matter what was happening in his life. The main scriptures we were talking about were Psalm 119:9-11 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. and Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. We took pictures of each of the kids at the beginning of the class and then we used a small photo printer that we were given before we left, to print each of the pictures. And we decorated some photo frames for them to put their pictures in. I think the kids really enjoyed the lesson and the craft. Again Brandon and I were so thankful for this opportunity to serve these kids. 

One of the classes at Peris

The younger class at Peris

Brandon & Becky :)

Happy Birthday Russell!!!!

Sorry we are missing it! We hope that you have a great day!!

Love, 
Brandon & Becky

Week 1: part 2

ROMANIA FACTS

~ Romanians refer to a draft as a current. And they think that every sickness or ailment you have is due to over exposure to the current. If you have a neck ache its because you were in the current, or if you have a cold its because you were in the current. So they rarely have a window open in their house. This is problematic in the orphanages and baby hospitals where you have multiple people piled into a room with no air conditioning, fans or fresh air. 

~People park everywhere. In the middle of the street and yes even on the sidewalks, sometimes they actually park in designated areas too!

~Proper Romanian greeting - kiss on both cheeks.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

The base home is very beautiful. It is a 3 story home and it has a very large basement. The first floor has a large dining room and living room, a kitchen, a few bathrooms and 2 bed rooms. The second floor is where all the incoming teams stay. There are numerous bedrooms with bunk beds and a few bathrooms. The third floor is reserved for Jim and Jodi Sorrels. They are the founders and directors of Heart to Heart International. The basement has a large garage/storage area, the laundry room, the pantry, another room for teams and an office. The office is where Brandon and I stay. It has a desk, some book shelves and a bed. It is a perfect little room for us. We could have stayed upstairs with the rest of the team members but since teams will be coming in and out all summer they thought it would be best if we stayed in the office. That way we don’t have to move to a different room every time a new team comes in. In the backyard there is a porch with a few different sitting areas and there is a pool. One of my favorite parts about the backyard is the cherry trees. One of the staff members made a yummy cherry cobbler with the cherries from the backyard yesterday and it was delicious! Heart to Heart uses every inch of this house to serve God. It houses all the short term team members through out the summer and they throw all kinds of parts for the kids - in the summer they have pool parties and youth group parties. They also have Christmas and Thanksgiving with all of the kids who graduate through the transition home program. It is really like one big family.

Dining room 

Living room

Kitchen

Backyard and pool

Back of the house

Front of the house

Front Porch

Stairs that lead to the basement

Our cozy room

PERSPECTIVE

This trip has been very different then I thought it would be. I’m not sure exactly what I was preparing for. I guess I thought it would be like all the stories I had read about from the late 80s and early 90s when the world was just finding out about the conditions of the orphanages here. I thought the orphanages would be filled to the brim with kids who very malnourished, dirty and lonely. That the baby hospitals would have hundreds of abandoned babies who need attention and care. And I thought that our new home would in some way reflect these things too. That it would be run down, tiny, and deficient of every day needs. At first I wasn’t sure how to take it all in. Our first visit to the orphanage was kind of confusing.  All of the kids seemed very happy - they were clothed, they seemed very clean and healthy. I noticed that they were much smaller than we are but I wasn’t sure if that was because Romanians are naturally smaller than Americans or because of the food we eat and the food they don’t eat. And there were only about 8 babies that we took care of in the baby hospital. And they had clothes, food and people taking care of them daily. 

Brandon and a few boys from Peris orphanage

Craft time - Brandon & Robi

But God has been giving me a new perspective - He has been showing me that I was only looking at the surface and judging the conditions here by my expectations of what I thought mission trips should be. They should be really dirty, really hard, really sad and it should never feel comfortable. In a way these things I though mission trips should be are right just not in the way I was thinking about it. Emotions, feelings and struggles can get really messy in our lives and even walking through them with someone else. And it is hard to give up the things you are use to and the things you want, to serve someone else. And sometimes it is sad, but we don’t have to be overwhelmed by the sadness and darkness. Because God always provides joy and hope. And in our flesh, we will ALWAYS be uncomfortable with the things of the Spirit. But we don’t have to worry when those things start to feel comfortable - its just a testimony to how God changes us and make us new! And I know you can understand these things because we all experience them whether we have been on a mission trip to a different country or not.

Brandon's twin - a boy from Peris orphanage

God has also given me a new perspective on how I was viewing all the kids in the orphanages and baby hospitals. A major thing I was over looking when I first met all these kids is that they are abandoned. Their parents left them in these places by choice. Some of the parents use the orphanage as a free day care or a boarding school, so some of the kids actually know their parents and they get to see them on weekends. But the conditions of the orphanage are rough. In Peris, there are 80 kids between the ages of 4-20, boys and girls living in the same house. There are limited workers to take care of the kids and most of them simply view it as their job, they do not have compassion for these kids. The rooms are packed with beds for all of the kids and when it rains outside it is raining inside too. I noticed some of the workers placing bucket under some of the leaks but the bedroom floors where still drenched. The conditions of the baby hospitals seem better. The babies have plenty of clothes, toys, diapers and food. The thing that is obviously lacking is parents to take of them. There are about 10 babies that we care for at the hospital. There are nurse who tend to them and a worker from Heart to Heart visits them everyday but nothing can really replace the actual parents. The nurses are rough with the babies and they do not pick each one up for feeding time. They lay the babies on their sides and use a rolled up sheet to prop the bottle in their mouths. 

All these things can be a lot to deal with but I am thankful that we serve a God who is in control all the time! He is continually giving us hope and joy in Him. I hope to write another update soon to explain more about the history of Romania and about the work Heart to Heart does here. Thank you for your support!!

Brandon & Becky

Tour of Bucharest - us in front of the symphony hall