Week 1 of Camp, TEAM SUA

Last year, I wrote pages and pages about my trip, only a week long. This time I have many weeks left of camp, so I will try really hard to keep it short. I may not succeed. I am not even sure where to begin with all the stories and pictures I have, but let me share a little about each kid in my group, starting with the girls.

Ana Maria was shy and sweet when it came to our group, but any chance she had, she was off visiting another team meeting boys from other group homes. Honestly, I had patience with her but the other groups did not. They kept getting annoyed that she was in the group. It wasn’t til the last day that she finally felt part of the group. She became involved in the games and was genuinely sad to leave. Hopefully, she listened a little bit to the message.

Rodica was the most challenging of the group. She was fine on second, and off pouting across the field the next. Anytime she messed up at a game, she threw things and ran off. It was challenging to try to encourage her without knowing the language. The translators were very helpful, and by the end of the week, she was in tears not wanting to leave. She might have been the most challenging, but she was also the most in need of love and attention. At the end of the week, we get a chance to pray for each kid on our team. Praying for her was the hardest because she pulled away from my arms and resisted so much. I know she couldn’t understand my words and that’s probably best, but she more than any I saw this week is very in need of emotional healing.


Arpy and Rupy were the calm within the craziness of our group. Both of them were full of energy and wanted to win. Rupy was a wonderful athlete and loved to help the team. But he also loved to cuddle with any of us who would let him. Arpy tried so hard in all the games and didn’t get discouaraged even if he didn’t do well. He was very attentive during all the lessons, and remembered the details. My prayer for him is that God will allow Arpy to understand all the truth he learned this week.

Then there was Nicosor, a young boy with autism. He was so happy all week long. I am not sure how much of any game he understood, but he always had fun. The simple things were enough to make him smile. He was such a blessing. My prayer for him was that God would help him understand His truth as I know He can.



Last but not least takes a little introduction. While praying about camp this week, my slightly lazy, selfish side was praying for a deep bond with one of the girls, preferably one who liked to sit around and paint nails, create fun hairstyles. God had the complete opposite in mind for me this week and it was such a blessing.

Even before camp started, we heard stories about a kid named Boby who was built like a body builder, full of energy, and only eight years old. Though he sounded fun, I figured the many male interns on this trip would keep him entertained. I can’t imagine a child more opposite of me in personality. Not only did Boby end up in my group, he also attached himself to me. During free time he didn’t want to play soccer with the other kids because they were not good enough. But he wanted to play with me. During group times, he was always cuddling with me, if my arms were around him, his were around me. Instead of relaxing during free time, I was chasing Boby around the entire camp. I was exhausted but it was worth it.

When we finally had to say goodbye, he gave me the longest hug and told me he loved me in Romanian. It was an amazing week.

More pics of the week here...

Week 1 of Camp -Team SUA (RO)