Love is in the air...

It's so good to be back in Romania! There was lots of love this month...not just because we celebrated Valentine's Day but also because the kids were ready to share their love with me again after being gone on furlough. Sunday mornings continue to be one of my favorite times with the kids and it was good to get back into the program that Heather and I had initially set of worship music, weekly Bible story review, and then prayer stations. We always have some amazing moments with the kids during this time where they share parts of their story that we have never heard, share how they are truly feeling, or show their trust in and desire for God in unexpected ways.

Life Skills (therapy) sessions and Character Classes continue to go well. Many of the kids are showing improvement both in and out of sessions. It is huge blessing to be able to work with other Heart to Heart staff members who are willing to help enforce boundaries and procedures that help the kids deal with their emotions in a positive way. While I was in the States I took a training to become a Certified Anger Management Specialist. As part of the training I need to lead several anger management groups over the next six months. I have started two groups at Voluntari, one with four younger kids and one with three older boys. The older boys in particular have really enjoyed the group and have even asked that we continue for "5 months" (their exact words)!

Even though there is still snow on the ground, summer planning is already under way! Heather and I have been meeting weekly with Jen and Jenny to begin talking about curriculum, themes, interns, and teams. It is exciting to have the ball rolling so early in the year and we hope and pray that it will mean a smoother, more enjoyable summer for everyone involved.

Coming up in March...

Character Classes, Life Skills sessions, Sunday morning praise and prayer, Anger Management groups, Youth Groups, and Bible Class will continue throughout March. At the end of March we will be welcoming the CCC and Mission Possible teams. We also have a gathering for the transition graduates planned for later in March.

Giving and Support Information

As many of you probably know, I am planning to extend my stay here in Romania past my initial three year commitment. I pray that you will prayerfully consider supporting my ministry in the years to come. If you are already giving there is no need to "recommit"; simply continue with your monthly giving plan as established. If you would like to begin supporting me, please use the link below to visit Heart to Heart's giving page and start your giving plan today. www.h2hint.org/index.php/h2h/give/

God is doing amazing things in and through me here in Romania. I would not be here today without everyone's love and support. Thank you for all that you do! I look forward to continuing to share about my ministry for many years to come.

Prayer Requests/Praises

Praises: I was able to start Anger Management classes at Voluntari. Our Bible teaching programs have gotten back on schedule. Summer planning is already underway and we are already making progress in several areas. Life Skills sessions and Character Classes are continuing to go well and we are continuing to notice progress with several kids. Prayer Requests: Continue to pray for our kids, especially at Periș, as they are beginning to become more open and willing to share their stories with us. We are seeing lots of really positive changes taking place and pray that the kids, and we as well, will be protected from Satan's attacks. Pray that the kids will continue to seek Christ and that we will be able to provide them with constancy, stability, and a feeling of safety. Pray for times when we as staff can get rest and refueling and that we will stay in a healthy mindset. Pray for summer ministry and that doors will open (or close) as needed to provide our kids with opportunities to meet with God and grow their relationship with Him. Pray that I will continue to make connections with other mental health professionals here in Romania.

Planning, Planning, Planning

Now that fall is right around the corner (hopefully...it's been very hot here in Romania) it's time to start getting ready for our school year programming. The kids started back to school this Monday, the 11th, and we've had a chance to start talking to the teachers and caregivers about our plans.

I will be conducting large group Character Classes at both Voluntari and Periș. In the spring we focused on building emotional intelligence and learning to identify emotions. This fall we will be learning about how to communicate our emotions effectively and how to cope with strong emotions.

Making some handouts for Character Class. I'll give these out to kids who I notice appropriately handling their emotions throughout the week.

One of the things I look forward to most about school year programs is meeting one on one for counseling sessions with kids. This is where we look at issues they are facing and try to process them and develop healthy ways of dealing with the myriad of situations they face. I'll be working with kids who struggle with depression, anxiety, ADHD, adjustment disorder, and host of other issues this fall. I love working with the kids and developing the one on one relationship as well as seeing them grow and learn.

I think I'm going to need a bigger binder for all my resources!

This fall Heather and I will be starting some new Bible classes at the orphanages. We are introducing a Junior Youth Group at both Periș and Voluntari as we have many pre-teens who are entering into an impressionable stage in their lives. We are hoping to provide them with a Biblical knowledge base that will lead them as they enter their teen years.

We are also starting a Bible Class with the youngest kids at Periș. After summer camps this year we felt a strong leading to continue building on what these little ones had begun to learn. Since this was the first year at our summer camps for over half of our littlest kiddos it was also the first time that some of them had been exposed to God's Word in a meaningful way.

Finally, we are hoping to begin a Sunday morning program with the kids at Periș. We would have a time of singing and prayer and also a time of review of the things they had learned in Bible Class and Youth Group during the week.

Sami and I from earlier in the summer. I'm praying that he will get involved in some of the activities we are starting in the fall.

As I worked through all the ministry plans that I have in mind for the fall I realized that my work here in Romania is only just beginning. I have been encouraged by the growth that I have seen over my first two years here but I am praying to continue it well on into the future. This depends, of course, on a number of factors including continued financial support. I have been abundantly blessed these past two years with amazing supporters and I pray that my support team will stay strong and continue to grow. In addition, I must say that without the prayers of many people around the world I would not have the strength to keep going. The words of encouragement that I receive are what keeps me positive when times are tough. I love serving with Heart to Heart and I love working with our kids. If you would like to join me on this grand adventure, whether through prayer, giving, or even serving on a short term trip, please check out h2hint.org for more information or send me a message here or on Facebook.

Continue to keep Heather, myself, our kids, and our other staff members in your prayers as we enter into this next season of serving!

Some Play Therapy and Some Snow

Since my last post things have gotten a lot better with ministry. Our team has started praying together regularly for the kids and see improvements not only in our responses to them but their behavior as well. I have noticed so many more good moments with them than bad over the past few weeks. Even when things get a little crazy, there are still more positive moments to remember than challenging ones. And we have seen some really awesome things happening with the kids like remembering unexpected things from our lessons, stunning moments of insight, and consciously choosing to do what's right and not what is easy. Please continue to pray that the Holy Spirit would fill us daily as we work with these kids.

Petruța and I

Character Classes are going well. We are doing a unit on Emotional Intelligence and the kids are exploring what different emotions looks like, sound like, and feel like. So far we have covered happiness and anger. The unit has a detective theme so the kids are creating "Feelings Files" for each emotion we discuss.

I have also been doing individual play therapy sessions with some of the kids. I use games like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders to teach about feelings and consequences for our actions. The kids really like the game Boom Boom Balloon where they get to poke a balloon with sticks until it pops. We talk about how the balloon represents us and the sticks represent things that upset us. We then discuss what happens when we don't have healthy coping skills (we "explode" like the balloon) and what we can do to help self-calm in challenging situations (deep breathing, writing, listening to music, praying, etc.). Sometimes I let the kids have free play time where I simply observe what they are doing. It's a lot of fun to see them working out problems in their head or acting out things they have experienced.

Marius free playing with Legos. He has a very vivid imagination. This started as a house and morphed into several other things before he was done.

Since the beginning of February the weather had started to get a little warmer. It was so nice to feel spring just around the corner and to see some of the snow finally starting to melt! However, that didn't last long as just the other day we had 3-4 more inches of snow. At least it didn't interfere with us going to see the kids as they were in the mountains on vacation this week.

Wednesday and Thursday were cold and snowy here!

I'm enjoying having a little break and catching up on things while the kids have been away. Next week we'll be jumping back into our emotions unit and learning about sadness. I'll be working with some of the kids on self-esteem issues, friendship building, and mindfulness in our individual sessions. I will be leading Youth Group in a few weeks as well. Pray for me as I prepare for these activities. Be in prayer for Heather as she is traveling to the States for two weeks of furlough this month and Mariana and I as we run our programing at the orphanage. Also, pray for our staff as we receive teams over the next few months and for the people coming who are serving on those teams.

As always, thank you for your prayers and support!

Happy New Year!

Wow! It's hard to believe that 2017 is here! It seems my last post was in October when we were just starting our school year ministry. And now ministry is well underway and we are on the other side of the Christmas holidays. One of my goals for this year is to update the blog a little more than once a quarter. I would say that I would like to update it 3-4 times a month but I figure starting out small is probably better so... at least twice a quarter I will try and update the blog 😜

I was Stateside for furlough throughout the month of December and came back to Romania the day after Christmas along with members of our Holiday Team. The next week or so was a blur as I re-adjusted to the time change and the weather and jumped right in to helping with the team. We delivered Christmas gifts, read stories, did crafts, and spent time just hanging out with the kids each day.

Petruta getting her Christmas gift.

Alexandra and Darius with Marian Stefan (from our boys transition program) checking out their Christmas gifts.

Reading a story at Tancabesti, the severe special needs orphanage.

Vlad, Elena, and Lucia working on crafts.

Lucra with her craft, a winter hat!

On New Year's Eve we had a party for everyone who had graduated from the Heart to Heart transition program. This is one of the big "family" events that we do throughout the year. This year we invited AlphaOmega, a church that many of the graduates and staff attend, to join us. There was good food, games, dancing, and, of course, plenty of fireworks.

After the Holiday Team left we've had a few days to regroup before jumping back in to seeing the kids. There was lots of snow over the weekend and the temperatures have been quite cold. I've had some firsts over the past few days including shoveling out the driveway and driving on snow!

After the first snowfall. We got about a foot of snow over the course of 24 hours.

Today was our first day seeing the kids without the rest of the team in tow. It was just a short visit because currently 2/3 of our household are fighting off the plague (or maybe just the flu). The kids will start school on Wednesday and we will start introducing spring programing on Thursday. There is more snow in the forecast for the rest of this week though so that could impact our schedule.

Pray for the health of me and my roommates and also that the kids will be receptive to our spring programs. We are looking forward to being back on a normal schedule with our kids and to what God will do through us during 2017.

Sweet Ana, she has the best smile!

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.

Bring on 2016!

So, I realize that for the entire month of December I was MIA from my blog. I don't know what to say except that December was this weird vortex of craziness that I may never emerge from...but I mean that in a good way.

My girl Denisa and I.

A lot went down in December...I finished my language lessons, I learned to drive standard, I moved 1.5 times (it's kind of hard to explain...), I helped deliver a lot of Christmas presents, I taught Youth Group in Romanian, I celebrated Christmas...and that's just the quick and dirty summary. I suggest we just start anew with January and I'll try to be a better blogger.

Love to see Daniel in a happy, none-tantrum-throwing mood.

Right now I'm in a really good head space. I love my job. I love Romania. I love the kids. I'm excited about 2016. This will be the year I finally get down to my ideal weight (and stay there), find love, blog more, and learn to enjoy cleaning house (ok, so my goals are a little lofty...maybe really lofty...). Ok, so if none of those things happen I'll still be fine. But seriously, I've felt really good the last few weeks even though I have been insanely busy. Actually insane doesn't begin to cover it but that's the best word I could come up with for the moment (this is what lack a lack of sufficient, quality sleep will do to a person).

Robi looking quite grown up with his Christmas presents.

Right now we are in the midst of hosting our Holiday Team. We've done some orphanage visits, handed out some gifts, and today we had a little "spectacol" ("show") where the kids danced and did skits. I was in my happy place this afternoon riding in the back of the van with some of the girls from the orphanage piled on top of me, holding my hands, and napping on my shoulder. I've had some awesome moments of just holding kids in my arms lately and there's nothing I love more than just snuggling with a kid.

Marian and I.

I hope that your 2016 started with you being in a good head space too. I'm praying that it continues and that this new year holds more kid snuggles and full hearts. And maybe a little more sleep.

Language Learning

The other day, after my language lessons, I met up with my friend Talitha and we went to visit the kids at Periș. We didn't have anything planned to do, we just wanted to hang out with them. I played a little basketball, which turned into a "Keep the Ball Away from Melissa" game, and then spent some time just relaxing with the kids.

At one point, one of the boys says to me, "Let's take a walk." So we get up and amble over to some shady space and sit down. Then a very special thing happened, this 16 year old boy started to open up to me about his life.

It was an awesome moment for me, this is, after all, why I came to Romania. I long for these moments when the kids trust me and tell me when something is on their minds.

This boy shared with me some struggles he was facing, some decisions that he had made (and seemed to regret now), and his issues with school. I asked a few questions and shared a few thoughts with him. However, for me, there was one thing hanging over my head throughout the whole incident: the language barrier.

I know (from personal experience and from research) that just being present is the biggest part of the battle. But something inside me still longs to be able to give some words of comfort, love, and guidance. And, while I understand a lot of what is said, I still don't have it 100%. And when you can't understand fully what the child is telling you, how can you find the words (in your limited vocabulary) to speak to his heart?

I know that God is bigger than any language barrier. I know that the Holy Spirit speaks to the heart when our words cannot. But I also want to be able to audibly speak the love and encouragement of Christ to these kids.

Iubim copii noștrii: We love our kids.

So, my biggest prayer request right now is that you would pray for me as I learn Romanian. I am not even a month in and I already have a sense of longing in my heart to learn as much as I can as fast as I can (I'm not exactly patient). Pray that I will grasp all that my teacher is teaching me. Pray that I will memorize what I need to memorize. Pray that I will be able to practice what I have learned. Pray for understanding of what is being spoken around me. Pray that God will give me wisdom and understanding of this language so that I can be the most efficient vessel I can be. And pray for patience when something doesn't come easily to me.

And please pray for our kiddos. To open up their lives to us is a big step and I never want to miss a chance to show them a glimpse of God.

A Quick Visit to Voluntari and Other Things

So, not much in the way of excitement has been going on around here lately. For me it's mostly lessons and homework. The Periș kids were at the beach last week. One roommate went to visit some friends about two and half hours away and my other roommate works every day from about 2:00 in the afternoon until well past midnight (this means she sleeps until about 11:00 every morning and I'm lucky if I see her at all). My friend Talitha was at camp all week so I was pretty much alone. I got some housecleaning completed and some napping done but nothing of great importance. Oh, and a lot of homework finished as well.

By Thursday my roommate was back so we went to the team house to help make school kits to give to the orphanages. The kids don't start school for a few more weeks but we needed to get it done before some of the staff takes vacation. Several of them are taking international trips that will be several weeks long so we want to be ready to hit the ground running when they return.

After making the school kits we went over to the orphanage at Voluntari to hang out with the kids. It was a really nice day so we stayed outside with them.

Sometimes I let the kids play games or take pictures on my phone. I wish I could show you how dirty my case was after they had handled it on Thursday. But then I wouldn't have such fabulous pictures as this one of Alexandra shaking her butt:

Occasionally she does slow down long enough to take a decent picture. However, she has no "off" button for her sass.

Other than getting to see the kids, the week as been fairly low key. I say fairly because there are some personal things going on right now that I'm dealing with. All I can really say is that the devil is alive and kicking. It's hard when every day you feel the fatigue of the spiritual battle going on around you. It's hard to do my part daily to take every thought and action captive and turn it over to God. Physically I have been really tired this week and my body has been really sore. Emotionally I have struggled with anxiety and feelings of helplessness. I see the beautiful sunset and know the park is just across the street but I have had a hard time finding the energy or motivation to get out and enjoy it. I've felt kind of lonely. Not homesick but just lonely in that way you get when you feel like a total outsider (gee, I wonder why...).

Some of this is just a passing phase. I know that. I can sense that it is coming to an end as the kids return from their vacations and as we look ahead to the new school year. I'm excited about the possibilities that lie in front of me. Yet, there is the real tug of other things, the things that try and drag you away from the true mission, that try and take your eyes off God. It's for those things that I would appreciate prayers.

Meanwhile, I will continue to keep my eyes on the prize...

Some Random Things

1. I started language lessons on the 17th of August. My teacher (more fondly know as "Doamna") explained that in the beginning there is a lot to learn and remember. She assures me it will get easier as we go along. Right now I feel like my brain is so full that it might start leaking out my ears. This is only after 2 lessons.

2. Praise the Lord, we have a cold front moving through!

Last week was in the 90's and it was almost unbearable. My friend, Talitha, and I were devising a plan to make homemade air conditioning units. Thankfully we got a natural respite from the heat. I would be happy if it stayed this way until March.

3. We went to see the kiddos at Voluntari yesterday for the first time in several weeks. I missed their little faces! We made super hero "puffs", played some games, and colored pictures. The kids are extremely restless and getting bored. They leave for their last vacation (at the sea) next week before school starts. The kids from Periș are also going to the sea next week. School should (hypothetically) start around mid-September so summer is winding down for everyone.

Making our "puffs."

Playing games. I had no idea what the point of this game was but Darius sure did and made sure that I played it correctly. I'm pretty sure he won.

Alex and I.

Coloring time.

4. Currently there is a funeral taking place next door. Like, next-door-to-my-apartment, next door.

I'm not sure what the social protocol is for taking pictures of this type of thing but I did anyways. And yes, that is a casket lid propped against the wall.

Apparently this is how it's done in Romania. Next door is an open casket with a deceased person inside. And the front door is just open so people can come and go and pay their respects (and, apparently, leave flowers and money (according to custom)). This will continue for several days and then, I'm guessing, they will take the deceased person out. Down eight flights of stairs, nonetheless. We shall see. To say this is a cultural experience is an understatement.

That's all I can think of for right now. I'm going to enjoy the breeze that's wafting through my apartment and rest my brain for a bit.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I wrote this yesterday morning (June 25th) but didn't get the chance to post it until today. Apologies...

Today is my birthday and I'm turning 32. When I turned 30 I had a feeling this was going to be the best decade of my life. So far it seems to be headed in that direction.

Professionally, I feel like I have finally found my calling. I love mental health therapy. I love working with the most troubled kiddos. For almost two and half years I worked at a job that I really enjoyed, even though there were times it got pretty tough. In less than a week I will be following my calling even further to Romania where I will be in the trenches with orphaned and abandoned kids almost every single day and I can't wait.

Spiritually, I feel like I'm tracking pretty well with God (though we can always do better, right?). I have setbacks but I have really seen God do some awesome things in my life. I feel peace and joy in my spirit that weren't there five or six years ago. I am more grateful than I ever have been for God's saving grace. I'm still learning lessons but I feel like I get the lesson quicker and I experience restoration in my relationship with God immediately, a feeling that I struggled to find, sometimes for months or years, in the past. These are things that I have wrestled with over the years and I feel like, maybe, I'm finally starting to get the picture.

I have had the joy of spending the last 3 years building closer relationships with my family members. I have a wonderful relationship with my parents. I've gotten to spend more time with my grandparents than in many years past. I have an awesome nephew who inspires me to be a better person. I have amazing kids who continue to grow and change in ways that five years ago I never thought possible.

My sweet nephew hanging out with me on my bed.

My Iuli, who is awesome.

My Ionut, who is also awesome.

My girls, Catalina and Albina...also awesome.

My George...you guessed it, another awesome kid!

My Mirela, truly an awesome girl.

As I look ahead to the next year I'm filled with excitement. I'm so thankful to my family and friends for letting me go be a mom to my kids on a daily basis for awhile. I'm grateful to God for the huge blessings He has given me over the last year. I'm ready to tackle the next challenge and see where life takes me. Yesterday, I moved 20 huge boxes of donations for my nonprofit from one storage unit to another all by myself. Then I went to an indoor trampoline center and bounced with my little cousins for two hours. At the end of the day I felt strong, not old (well, until this morning when I woke up with shoulder and neck pain, then I felt a little bit old). I want to always be able to play soccer when my kids ask me to. I want to be able to go swimming in the summer for hours at a time. I want to run and jump and kiss and hug and flip and climb trees if that's what's needed to show my kids and my nephew that I love them.

This is everything I moved by myself.

Playing soccer last year with my kids.

So, happy birthday to me! Here's to another beautiful year full of new and exciting experiences, growth, and love.

I Think They Know in Their Hearts

I'm always amazed each time I go to Romania which kids end up being drawn to me and me to them. Sometimes I end up spending time with kids I have known for a long time but who drift in and out of their interest in being with me. Sometimes I spend time with kids I hardly know at all. And, of course, there are some kids I always spend time with.

Of all the places we visit I'm always most interested to see how my time at Voluntari will go. The orphanage is full of younger kids so they are less likely to remember me from visit to visit. This time I ended up being with one little boy, Alberto, quite a bit, especially during our second week.

I actually knew Alberto from the time he first arrived at the orphanage. I distinctly remember him because he was one of the only kids there who was still in diapers. He was such a little cutie with his big eyes and chubby little cheeks!

Making crafts (Summer 2012)

At the pool party (Summer 2012)

Swinging (Summer 2012)

Alberto was around the other times that I went (though I seem to lack much photographic evidence of such) and I'm sure that I spent a little time with him here and there but, overall, we haven't had a whole lot of interactions. Little Alberto got integrated into the 30 plus "grădiniță" (preschool and kindergarten aged kids) at Voluntari.

Getting Christmas presents (Winter 2012/2013)

Sitting with Ms. Cherri (Winter 2013/2014)

Front and center (in the blue stripes) to show off his snowflake craft (Winter 2013/2014)

I hate to say that Alberto got lost in the crowd but as a very quiet and very well behaved (relative to all his peers of course) little boy he sometimes got overlooked for the kids who were running in circles, climbing on the tables, and yelling at the top of their lungs. But this time around, he picked me.

I spent one day playing a little on the playground with him (I think I took an interest in his trucks or something like that) and from then on he would find me. He'd stick out his little hand and I'd take it and we'd be on our way.

At outdoor worship time the day we decided to be best buds.

I can't explain why some kids decide after all the years, after all the visits, after all the time why they are ready to let you into their little world.

The Day of 100 Selfies (literally...he took over 120 pictures sitting on my lap one afternoon).

I don't know if Alberto really remembered me from all the visits before. I don't know if any of the little kids do. But I do believe that God helps them remember in their hearts if not in their heads.