Starting Ministry

As some of you may know, here at Heart to Heart we have two ministry "seasons." We have summer ministry which runs primarily through the month of July but often includes several weeks in June and August and our school year ministry which runs the rest of the year (September through June when the kids are in school). We concluded with our summer ministry a few months ago and have been preparing to start our school year ministry over the months of August and September. The kids officially started school on September 12th but it usually takes several weeks to get schedules set and classes in order. We were finally able to get enough of a program set that this week we kicked off school year ministry activities.

On Monday we opened the transition houses. We trekked down to Nenculesti with the boys to help them get settled into their new space. For the boys from Peris this is a big change. They are moving far away from any friends and family they may have to a small farming village. While Peris is not a large city the kids are used to having more conveniences and being able to travel about more easily.

There are three boys from the Peris orphanage that will be in the transition program: Nicu Cociu, Nicu Perghel, and Marian Stefan. Marian Stefan came down to the house on Tuesday as he had to finalize some things at his previous job. There are two boys from Rosiuri de Vede: Sorin and his brother Dani, and one boy from the boys orphanage in Alexandria: Cristi. Please pray for them as they learn to live and work together and experience the joy of being part of the Heart to Heart family.

Dani, Nicu C., Isabela, Nicu P., Cristi, and Sorin

After we had lunch and brief meeting in Nenculesti we took Isabela, who is from Rosiuri, up the girls transition apartment in the city. Isa has waited a long time to join our program and we are excited to have her finally become a part of our family!

Tuesday we began our school year ministry in the orphanages. This year I have taken over leading the large group classes at both Peris and Voluntari. Last year these classes were called Character Classes but this year we have changed them to Life Skills groups. The kids will be learning how to behave appropriately, interact socially, and express their emotions in a healthy way. The two classes that we held yesterday at Voluntari went really well. The kids were attentive and excited and contributed in meaningful ways to the class. I pray that they will continue to learn these valuable skills and grow into the person that God has envisioned for them.

Today (Wednesday) I will start meeting with kids one on one for counseling sessions. I am excited as this year I'm incorporating some groups for our teenagers. I pray that all the kids will be receptive to what I have to share with them and that God's love would pour through me into their lives.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I will run two large Life Skills groups at Peris and Friday I may be able to have some one on one sessions at Voluntari.

This year is looking to be a busy one but I am excited to see how God will move in the lives of our kids! Pray for me as I take on more responsibilities this year and that I will feel confident and comfortable in this position.

I'm Back

I didn't make any big announcements about it but for the last two weeks I have been in the States on a brief furlough. Because my visit was so short I decided to keep it on the down low and focus on trying to see family.

Visiting my grandmother and grandfather.

I was able to celebrate Christmas with my family and spend a week with my nephew (who just turned 1) and sister-in-law.

Dinner with some of my family.

I also did some "housekeeping" type things like going to the dentist and taking a continuing education class.

My nephew reading his Romanian children's Bible that I got him for his birthday.

It was truly a blessing to be able to go back to the States for a visit. Typically we have to wait a whole year before we get any furlough but, because I came in July and the summer is our busiest time of year, I probably wouldn't have gotten to come home for almost 18 months. Thankfully I have a very understanding boss who allowed me to have a short little visit with my family.

My mom, me, and my aunt Becky at the University of Georgia gymnastics meet in Athens, GA.

I arrived back here in Romania earlier today and have been unpacking and trying to get my body adjusted back to this time zone. I took a nap earlier today which typically would be a big no-no but I kept it short and during a time when I would normally nap anyways.

Lounging with my parents' dog, Luke. I miss having a pet!

Tomorrow I jump into planning for play therapy sessions and helping with Character Classes and Youth Group again!

Me and my dad at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Easter

I know I'm a little late to the game but I thought I'd give y'all a peek into my family's Easter weekend.

It ended up being a family-filled weekend as my uncle was in town for work (he and his family just moved to Corpus Christ, Texas) and my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were also staying with us. On Sunday we all went to the outdoor service at my parents' church and then had lunch at my parents' house. My grandmother and aunt came over for lunch as well. After lunch we went and visited my grandfather at the nursing home. It ended up being a pretty busy day but it was great to be with my family. As my mom says, "My home and my heart are full!"

The cutest little bunny ever!

My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew after church.

My brother with his little man. So weird to think that my little brother is a dad!

Selfie!

My mom, nephew, grandmother, and brother. Four generations.

My aunt with her great-nephew.

My brother, dad, nephew, and my uncle. Do they look related?

My grandfather and my mom.

Hope you all had a great Easter as well!

Reasons

As I mentioned in my last post, this is the first time in 4 years that I have not boarded a plane for Romania immediately after Christmas. There were two main reasons why I didn't go this year. The first was that I'm trying to save money. I have some big plans for the spring and I'm trying to funnel my fundraising efforts into that. The second is that my sister-in-law was due to deliver my nephew (my first!) on Jan. 9. Since I don't get back from Romania until Jan. 7 that would have been cutting it close. Plus, the closer we got to Christmas the less likely it seemed she would actually make it to Jan. Low and behold...

Baby Levi Harold is here! He arrived right smack in the middle of the afternoon (12:16 p.m. to be exact) on Sunday, December 28.

Little man weighed in at 5 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 3/4" long. And, yes, he has blonde hair!

Levi and daddy

It's a little surreal seeing my "baby" brother with a baby of his own but I couldn't be happier for him and my sister-in-law.

At home with mommy

This is one proud Auntie and I'm so glad that I was here to love on him in his first moments of life.

Welcome to the world, little Bubby! Aunt Melissa loves you!

Let Me Catch My Breath

Ever since I got back from my vacation it has been absolutely non-stop. Work has been the usual craziness but the weekends have been a special kid of crazy.

The first Saturday that I was back I had a play therapy training in the morning and a friend's wedding that afternoon.

Sandtray from the play therapy training.

Albert and Haley's Walking Dead themed ceremony.

On Sunday I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law.

The cake.

Brandi gets very excited about gifts.

This past weekend has been just as busy. This past Saturday I got my hair cut, had a Romanian lesson, and went to a farewell party for two of my friends who are moving to Costa Rica with their daughters to be missionaries.

Baby monitors!

Sunday was another baby shower in Marietta. This one was co-ed so my brother got to come/participate as well.
Needless to say, by Sunday afternoon I'm exhausted. And, for some reason, everyday I come home and want to do nothing more than go to bed. *But*...I decided to knit a bunch of Christmas gifts, gifts the need to be shipped actually, and I really need to get them finished in...oh...about 2 weeks. So, I've been trying to find the energy to knit at least a little bit before bed every day.

With the holidays coming up, family dinners/parties, another baby shower, and still needing to shop for Christmas presents I'm probably going to be a little busy for the next month or so. And more than a little tired.

Story Time: Part I

I know I have been away for awhile. I have been training a co-worker who just joined my department, carefully monitoring my recovering cat, and, to top it all off, we got slammed with an insurance audit about 4 weeks earlier than anticipated. September was off to a great start!

The last few days have been a comedy of errors and I feel that they warrant a little story telling. So gather round children, tonight I bring the first tale.

Yesterday, my parents had planned to grill out for dinner. However, my dad wasn't feeling well. As soon as I got home he fired up the grill and went to bed. First, I must tell you how we got the grill started: my dad cranked the propane tank up until it was full open. He then stood there trying to strike a match for a good 2-3 minutes. As soon as he stuck the match into the grate a blaze whooshed up and nearly singed his eyebrows and some low hanging tree branches. Then he closed the lid and went to bed.

I go inside and my mom comes home. I set to pattying out the hamburgers and my mom decides to throw the chicken on the grill. She steps outside and proceeds to yell, "Oh my gosh! The grill is on fire!" I look out the door and there are flames coming out from under the lid and from under the bottom of the grill. And they are flaming in the direction of the propane tank. I yell, "Get the fire extinguisher!" and mom and I take off running in opposite directions.

I head for the garage because I just happened to notice we had a fire extinguisher out there when I was getting trash bags from the cabinet last weekend. My mom has placed a large box in front but I use my Herculean, adrenaline-fueled strength to shove it out of the way. In the meantime my mom has run to the basement and is yelling, "Where is it?!?!" because she can't find the extinguisher down there. She does manage to find it and comes barreling up the steps as I'm tearing back through the den, ripping the extinguisher from the box. We're both pulling the pins and throwing them on the nearest surface and arrive at the grill about 10 seconds apart.

At this point I'm trying to aim and spray my extinguisher but there is a mounting bracket attached to the back that is making it impossible for me to spray the darn thing. My mom does not have this hindrance and manages to spray the flames and put out the fire before anything explodes or the deck catches fire.

We then proceed to stand there panting and going, "Is it out?" "I need to turn off the propane. Is it safe to go over there?" "Why is the grill still smoking? Is it still on fire?!?" After 5 minutes of debating my mom goes inside, gets an oven mitt, comes out and shuts off the propane. She then yells, "The food!" and has to rush back inside to make sure the dog isn't eating raw meat off the counter. After another few minutes (in which I was standing on the back deck still very concerned that something was about to blow up) my mom comes outside and opens the lid of the grill. A whiff of smoke slithers out but the fire was really and truly vanquished.

Mom and go back inside to cook dinner (on the stove and the George Foreman grill) and my dad eventually pokes his head out of the bedroom (remember, he was in bed this *whole time*). My mom tells him, "Oh, in case you're wondering, we just put out a fire on the grill. It was coming out the sides and the bottom." My dad kind of shrugs and says, "Yeah, that's happened before. I think there's something wrong with the connecting line. You just have to turn the propane off and then turn it on real low." Then dude eats a hot dog and goes back to bed.

Mom and I stand there a little stunned...does a "bad connection line" sound like a good thing when we're talking about propane and fire?!?! Does this mean the grill could have exploded in a fiery blaze before?!?! Why do we still have this death trap still near our home?!?!

Needless to say our little fire extinguisher episode was the final nail in the coffin for the grill. Looks like we'll be grill shopping soon...

Self Imposed Time Off

Recently I took a nice, planned, vacation with my parents and a nice, not so planned, break from the blog. I need to make time away from all my obligations and activities so that I don't start to feel overwhelmed by everything. Work had gotten to the point where I was very grouchy and frustrated at the slightest thing so I knew it was time for a little getaway.

Mom, Dad, my Aunt Becky, and I went to Amelia Island for a long weekend. Becky and I drove down on Friday afternoon and came back on Monday afternoon. I didn't take too much time off because I will be leaving for Romania on June 7th and I will need some of that vacation/personal time for then.

The weather at the beach was perfect. Not too hot, a great breeze, and not a cloud in the sky. I spent two days just lounging on the beach, getting sunburned, and reading magazines. It was great.

Dad and I ventured in to the little town of Fernandina Beach on Monday before we left to drive back home and did a little window shopping.

Of course I also made time for some knitting and nearly finished up a pair of socks.

It seems I didn't take a single picture while I was on vacation. The only one I have is one my aunt took the first night we were there.

View from our balcony.

Oh, and this one of a lizard on the hood of our car.

You have to look closely but he's there.

All in all it was a very much needed break. It has been back to work for the last week but I'm already ready for another long weekend (Memorial Day) this weekend.

Grief From the Missionary Mama's Perspective

After I first went to Romania I truly grieved from my children. I grieved for a lot of things they didn't have. I still grieve for the deep, soul crushing things they have suffered and the love they have missed out on. But sometimes I grieve for random things.

Yesterday, I grieved over book fairs.

Yep, book fairs.

I grieved because, in my heart of hearts, I want my kids to experience the thrill of a book fair.

The sudden realization of this loss lead to other realizations about my children's education. They will never ride the school bus to school.

They will never pack their bookbags in expectation of a new school day. I will never check "Friday Folders" or fill out field trip slips. They will never experience the school cafeteria or recess.

They won't get to try out for a school sports team. They won't go to prom or homecoming. There will be no parent/teacher conferences. No standardized testing. No graduation ceremony with caps and gowns.

Yes, my kids have had some good educational experiences thanks to some wonderful people who pour into their lives daily. But that doesn't change the fact that they will never have the "normal" experiences I want them to. I know that my idea for the "perfect" childhood experience isn't necessarily what's best for my kids. I know that they don't know what they are missing out on. And that, even if they did know, they might not want that experience. I get that.

But when you are a missionary mama sometimes you just want to give your kids a book fair.

2.5 Hours

On Monday school started in Romania. And my boys came back to the orphanage.

Iulian, me, Florin, and George. My little boys have grown into men!

For about 2 and half hours I watched them play soccer, let them take pictures with my camera, helped them open their presents, and played cards together

This mama's heart is happy again.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that your holiday is merry and bright and that you remember the true reason for the season!

Yesterday we had Christmas with my maternal grandparents and my maternal aunts and uncles. Today we opened presents from "Santa" and we'll be with my dad's family this evening.

A very sweet moment from last night: My cousin Jake helping my grandfather with his presents.

My uncle Rick and my dad "helping" my cousin Brianna model her new scarves.

Baby Bennett ("B.B.") playing with his new truck.

My cousin's little girl, Ryleigh, opening her gifts.

Be safe and have a wonderful holiday! Mom and I leave tomorrow for Romania! I can't believe it's time to go again!