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.

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Week 2 of Camp - Team UK