Week 5 -UK (Casa Kids)

This is a pic of our team getting first place!! This week, we took the kids from Livada’s care to camp. It was so much easier than all the other weeks because most of the kids knew some English. We did not take any volunteer translators, only the Romanian staff members, Alina and Ovi, and our main translator, Alexandra. My group was made up of a few of the kid, including the girl I sponsor, Maria, Cornel, Katy, Krisztina, Daniela, Levi and Stefan. I had met each one of them during previous visits to the Casas, but this week I was really able to build relationships with a few of the girls, especially Maria.

I asked ahead of time to be in her group and was hoping to spend a lot of time with her. But from the first day, Krisztina decided she always wanted to stand by me in line all the time. I had been to the Casas a few times and tried to talk to her but she never seemed interested, yet as of Monday, she and I really clicked. She had so much energy, which I am told is not normal for her. She is a bit of a tomboy so she was great to have around on the games. She constantly told me she loved me and even made me a bracelet. My favorite memory of her will be when we made her our “body builder”. She really wanted to do it, but we weren’t sure she had it in her. Not only did she take on the role, dancing and posing, she also helped us win first place. During the last night of prayer I had been warned that she would probably not be focused. As I went up to pray for her, she took me aside far from the group. As soon as I finished my prayer, she asked to pray for me. I didn’t understand much since it was in Romanian, but I know she thanked God for sending me to camp with her. It is a moment I will always remember.

Kati was a bit tougher. She obviously crazed love and attention, but she would shy away as soon as it was given to her. She wanted to be so independent, but I could see how self-conscience she was in almost everything she did and said. One day, she hurt her toe on the slip and side and I tried to help her walk to the doctor’s tent. She would not lean on me, but she allowed me to walk with her as she hopped. As soon as we got to the doctor, I took her hand. She suddenly pulled away, saying, “Don’t touch me” (her favorite English phrase I think). But as the doctor poured alcohol on the cut, she reached for my hand again. As soon as the sting was gone, she pushed my hand aside and once again said, “Don’t touch me”. This is sort of a picture of who Kati was all week. She obviously has a lot of hurt and mistrust in her past, and I know the years with Livada have helped, but I also know she needs so much prayer, especially now as she is in her teenage years. My prayer for her is not only that she will know Christ personally, but also that she will be able to find her identity and confidence in Him.

Maria and I did not get to spend much time together at camp. But the times we had were wonderful. Going into the day Thursday, my prayer was that God would really help me have deep meaningful conversations with her. During the walk to town, Krisztina clung to me the entire way there, so I wasn’t able to talk to Maria much. But the way back, somehow it ended up being just her and me. We had a great conversation about her family and background. Then that night, after I prayed for her, I still longed for more. I prayed for the rest of the kids in the group, then went back to sit with her. We started talking again, about the future, when I could visit again, and if my family could come meet her. She said she loved spending time with me and both of us almost cried, but we knew it wasn’t goodbye yet. I can’t even imagine what goodbye will be like. Even though our communication is sometimes limited, I feel like she is one of my “youth”. She is the same age as the girls I disciple back in Texas and in so many ways I feel like she is one of them. I wish I could stay and disciple her, but I know for now at least, I need to go back to Texas. As I pray to hear God’s voice for future plans, I pray and hope that Maria will be a part of it.
The rest of the kids were also such a blessing, but this is already too long. Each one of them made me smile and laugh. Team UK produced their own version of the Spice Girls as well as many other fun memories. Below is the link to the pictures and a special treat – a clip of Krisztina winning the body builder competition. Once again, there is no sound, but it was MC Hammer’s Too Legit To Quit. You know you love that song, so just play it or sing it while you watch. Enjoy.

RO Week 5 UK (Casas)

Week 4- Romania

This week I finally got a chance to be the “home team”, Romania. This week was probably one of the most difficult and emotional of all, but amazing. This blog will be a different format than the past few because the week was so different. My team was wonderful, but God opened the doors for me to bond with a few kids not on my team…so I’m just going to tell a little about each kid whether on my team or not.

We took the kids from group homes called Sincrai. We visited there a few weeks back and one of the boys, Florin, instantly clung to me. I found out quickly that he loved my camera most of all. He was not in my group, but he is actually responsible for most my photos this week. From the first day meeting him, he told me he loved me, even when he didn’t want my camera (though usually he asked for it shortly after). He was cute and knew how to use that to his advantage. It was hard to say no to him at times, and usually if I said no, he would find someone else with a camera to cling to. But he always came back to me. We had a “handshake” that I taught him those few weeks back and he remembered all of it this week. He was such a blessing in my life and made me smile and laugh even through a difficult week of feeling sick everyday. The many pics of the two of us smiling should show it all. I am pretty sure we took about 15 pics just the two of us, but I narrowed it down for my album. ☺

Ileana was so much fun right from the beginning. She was on my team and participated in everything. She loved to dance and to cuddle. During the Thursday night time of prayer, she was obviously emotional as I prayed. Afterward, she even prayed for one of the leaders. She and I really connected the last day at the pool though. She had a bracelet she made with her brother and sister’s name, Boby and Rodica. I told her that I was their camp leader (Week 1) and she lit up. All three of them somehow were put in different group homes. They talk on the phone, but it doesn’t seem like they see each other often. She told me that Rodica said she loved me and was so excited that I had been their leader too. It was such a blessing, not only to bond with her but to know that I made an impact on Rodica as well. Boby and I obviously connected, but Rodica was much more of a challenge. Ileana spend the rest of the day with me, drew me a picture, and gave me her email to send her pictures and letters. It was a great way to end the week.

The last story of the week is of Adrianna, one of my girls from last year. My favorite part about last year was working with the teenage girls. So far this summer, I have not had a chance to get to know any. I did not know Adrianna was a part of our camp until late Tuesday when we finally saw each other. She is quieter by nature and although she hugged me, we did not talk much. Last year, we were with Ana Maria and the three of us talked a lot via Ana Maria and I speaking in Spanish. This year since Adrianna was not on my team we spoke very little. I kept praying for opportunities to talk to her and none came. The last day, she told me in Romanian that she wanted my email address to write me. I was so excited. Her sister knows English and so she said she will write me in English. I may not of had the opportunity to talk to her this week, but I am so excited about what God can do through e-mails.

There are so many more stories to tell, but I’ll save those for when I see you in person. The rest of my group was Rares, Adrianna’s brother who loved to make me laugh, Luci, a sweet-spirited guy with the best laugh ever, Adina, a tomboy with amazing soccer skills, Ioana, the educators daughter who was adorable, Mihai, the cutest little boy who could yell ROMANIA louder than anyone else, and the older boys, Pippi and Bela, who could dance with amazing skill. If it works, there is a video of them dancing in costumes for our advertisement. There is no sound (my camera has no mic) but turn on your favorite Romanian techno music while you watch and enjoy.


Pics from the week...

RO Week 4 Romania

A week in the life of an intern...

Ok I realize that I have been blogging all these deep emotions about camp and I haven't actually shared what we do. I am going to explain a very generic version of what a week is like in Romania. I will try hard to leave out stories and emotions...but its me :)

MONDAY
Usually we sleep in a bit and do some stuff around the house/town. At about noonish -we go to the office for lunch and divide into Countries (teams) with translators and the visiting group. We take some time to pray for the week then head out to the orphanages or group homes. When we arrive, we paint nails and play with kids. After we know all the kids are with us, the Romanian volunteers start us off with a skit explaining that the Olympics in China are canceled and instead will be at Vetca...only we need people to compete. We divide the kids into teams and after some cheering and face paint start off the competition with four sets of games. At the end of the games, we say goodbye. We are usually exhausted as we arrive back at the office for our pizza dinner. Evenings are free and usually include walking someplace to use the internet or packing.
TUESDAY
Tuesday mornings always involve packing and taking that last "real" shower before heading out to camp. The bus picks us up about noon and we head out to Vetca. We arrive a few hours before the kids and set up their tents making sure each kid has sheets, a pillow, and two blankets for the cold nights. By the time kids arrive, we manage to finish (usually) and have enough energy to cheer for them. After camp rules and moving in to there "5-star" tents, we create our team flags...and usually spill paint everywhere. Then we have an amazing game of wiffleball. Romanians seem to have no concept of baseball, the translators and the kids are always so confused. Picture a clip from the beginning of the Bad News Bears and multiply the lost confused kids by about 10 and you have our game. Kids pile up on first base and the ball is thrown to just about every person before the next pitch. Its a bit stressful, but most weeks all I can do is laugh. In the evening, we have "Club" time, a great talk about how rules are actually in place to make life better. Then we play around a bit more until its dark enough for a camp fire and smores. By then, its 10ish and time for bed...and everyone of us is very ready.
WEDNESDAY
We begin every morning at camp with an 8:00 meeting to discuss the day and pray for energy (very needed at this point). At 8:30, we begin "morning exercises" with the kids - mostly dancing around to YMCA and other choice songs while doing stretches, always fun. It even gets me energized and everyone who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person. After breakfast, we have "Club" time again and then stations of games. The kids also get to make a t-shirt and memorize the days verse.Then free time and lunch, followed by slip-in-slide and sometimes another water game. This usually involves hosing off at the end, the only shower for many the entire week. The evening is the wonderful "Messy Games" Olympics, a series of fun games for more points. By the end of it all, its once again time for bed to rest before another day at Camp Vetca.
THURSDAY
Morning meeting at 8:00 always seems so early by Thursday. The morning exercises and breakfast are pretty much the same. Then "Club time again, and the singing usually wakes me up. The stations for the day include decorating a picture frame and each kid gets a photo of the team to take home. After lunch we make AMAZING advertisements for our team's country. These will hopefully be posted online later, but let me tell you they are funny even if you don't speak the language. Afternoons include a walk to the village for ice cream and conclude with a Decathlon that usually has about seven or eight games (hmm). After dinner, we watch the videos and create our own body builders (great for photos). Then we learn the final standings for the week (still working on getting the gold medal). We conclude the evening with my favorite part of the week, a time of prayer for each of the kids on our team. This part of the night includes tears, laughs and lots of pictures. The kids go to bed with a gift bag full or little items that they love and a camp t-shirt. By this time, we are usually all emotional as well.
FRIDAY
Friday morning after the meeting and exercises, we help the kids pack up and load the buses. We head out to "The Weekend" a really large public pool. We spend our last day with the kids swimming and playing around at the pool and then say our goodbyes. By the time we get back to our house, we are exhausted and usually shower for the first time since Tuesday. The rest of the night is almost always low key.
SATURDAY
I usually have no trouble sleeping in these days. We have the option of visiting the orphanges, the Casas (Livada's own kids) or hanging out around town. For dinner, we head to the Livada office for a cookout with the visiting team, usually followed by hanging out with them.
SUNDAY
Most Sundays I have been going to the Baptist church down the road which is actually very similar to our churches. After church, we have afternoons free. Dinner is always with the other interns at the house and we gather for a time to share our weeks and what God has been teaching us. We pray and prepare to begin it all again...

Week 3- Germania

This week was a very different week. We had a group of teenagers, my absolute favorite. Most of my group ended up being 18-23 year old guys, so I can’t say I really got to know any of them well but we had a lot of laughs. And most importantly, we finished 2nd. We were amazing at all the games, a drastic changes from previous weeks. The boys got a bit competitive at times, but they obviously had fun.

Levi is an artist with amazing talent. He created most of our Germania flag (not all of it…that would have been cheating). God has gifted him with the ability and he uses it to create and sell works of art. He is 23 years old and I know God has great plans for his future.
The younger Levi loved to hang out with the guys. He had such a fun time hanging out with the guy interns that at times I felt bad trying to move him to our group. However, he seemed to love every minute with us too. My favorite memory of Levi will be when I allowed him to paint my nails blue and apply makeup. It looked ok until he added the blush. And he painted the outline of my nails first then filled in the middle.
Szabi is crazy and had my laughing so much. He spoke English a little and after a short conversation about my life, he decided to call me teacher. It was so funny to hear him calling out “Teacher, Miss teacher” in his Romanian accent. He was always the one to cheer the loudest for the team, mostly cheering right in the ear of one of our team members. The kids obviously look up to him, so my prayer is that He can be an example for them.
Aghi had herself literally attached to me about half way through the day Tuesday. When I went to my tent, she was waiting outside. When I went to the bathroom, she was standing right outside my stall. It was a huge test of patience. She obviously needed and craved attention and love, but those of you who know me well know that it is REALLY not my thing to be touchy-feely. With a little help from other team members (providing distractions every once in a while so I could pee in peace) I was able to change my attitude and hopefully really imact her as well. I was able to pray for her brothers surgery one morning with one of the other translators as well as pray Thursday night. Hopefully God will use that in her life.
Ilie was quiet with me but loved to be a part of the team (He was obviously NOT quiet with other Romanians). Gyongyi was the same way. I wish I could have spent more one on one time with them, but they both had a blast with the video and the games. We had one other team member, Zoli, who was the caretakers son. He joined us with most events and seemed to have fun as well. We didn’t get to talk much, but it was great to see his mother cheering on him and the other kids with each game.














Below are pics from the week again....

RO Week 3 Germania

Week 2 - TEAM UK

After one week of camp, I guess I felt I knew what to expect. But I was wrong.
This week was entirely different. Week one was made up of young kids and special needs kids. This week, my group was made up of four teenagers and three little kids. My translators were once again great, and I also had a few guys from the Irish team helping out.
The first few days, I didn’t feel very well and did not feel I connected well with the kids. I took some time out one afternoon to really pray that God would give me opportunities to connect with each one and He answered.
Ionel was the oldest teenage boy in our group. He was placed in the group while we still had mostly little kids and I automatically assumed he would be one of those kids that was too cool to have fun with us. I was very wrong. He cheered the loudest and encouraged the other boys to participate. It was wonderful to have him as part of the team. He also knew a little English which was great to talk to him and allow him to help translate during meals.
Adi was one of our youngest. He was adorable and a great soccer player for a kid his size. He didn’t talk much but always seemed to be having fun. The picture is of him and one of the translators, Timi.
The other young one on our team was Lunita, an adorable kid who knew she was cute and tried to use that to get her way. She would play with my hair during all the talks and cuddle up for me and ask for her water even though she knew she was not allowed to have her bottle during the club time. Then she would pout, turn the other way, and cuddle up with someone else to try the same thing. She was a handful, but so fun to have on the team. She let me do her makeup and nails but she insisted on putting many layers of bright lipstick on. Love that about kids.
Flavius was younger and usually very quite. During free time, he usually chose to play by himself. He might have been quite, but he had tons of energy. About half way through the week, he decided he absolutely loved Jamie, one of our Irish guys. He attached himself to Jamie the rest of the week and kept Jamie running around the pool all day Friday. This is him and Ovi, one of the Livada staff members.
Marcel was a younger teenager with amazing athletic ability, a great plus to have on the team. But what I loved most about him was his smile. He had a smile on his face the entire week. He loved to practice his English with the leaders. He was always wanting to share with everyone in the group. It was amazing to see him so happy in the midst of all the circumstances in his life. It seems I didn't take any "normal" pics of him, but this one captures his personality.
The last two girls, Edit and Judit, were sisters. They joined our team late Monday. The picture below is of both of them, plus Lunita because she just had to be in the picture, but she is not one of the sisters :). They were older, 18 and 19 if I remember correctly. Both of them were very quiet. I learned that they had not seen their mother in 14 years and were in the orphanage because their father was in prison. I have worked with a lot of students with similar stories but the hard part was learning that their father was in prison for killing their brother. I cannot even imagine what that is like for them. I have no idea how long ago this happened, but they don’t seem like they have been in the orphanage too long.
The last night when we prayed, everyone was laughing and not very focused. When I prayed for both sisters, I prayed for their family, including their father, and that they would know Christ as the heavenly father. They were laughing too and I didn’t even thing they were listening. But they knew enough English to understand the word father, so after they asked one of the translators what I prayed for them. I was able to explain a little about my prayer and that God is their father even though their earthly father failed them. I have no idea what God will do with that, but I will continue to pray that He reveals himself to them as Father.

See more pics from Week 2 of Camp...

Week 2 of Camp - Team UK