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.

Building Emotional Intelligence

In Character Classes we have been working on building emotional intelligence for about a month. This means that the kids have been learning about different emotions and what they look like, sound like, and feel like.

Character Class at Voluntari.

Every week I read a story about a different emotion and then the kids complete a page in their "Feelings Files" booklet. So far we have covered happiness, anger, sadness, and fear. We will be learning about embarrassment this coming week.

Learning about anger.

Many of the kids have never stopped to think about the complexities of these different emotions. However, by beginning to think deeper about emotions they are actually beginning to identify their own feelings in various situations. I help this process by starting every class asking each child individually, "How do you feel today?" and "Why?" Of course, I always share how I'm feeling, even if it's not always a good feeling, because I want the kids to see how I identify my emotions and that all emotions are ok.

An example of the kids beginning to identify their emotions. They stated they would feel bad, empty in their stomach, and cold if someone cussed at them. These are sensations we have associated with sadness!

I really like having the opportunity to process with a child who might be feeling upset. I can reassure them that their feeling is valid and that it is ok to feel that way. I can also remind them that feeling upset is not the problem, how they choose to react to their feelings is the most important thing to think about. Last week I had the chance to praise a child for being able to move past a challenging situation and continue on in class without a problem.

Darius working on a picture of a sad monster.

Being able to talk about how they are feeling is so important for our kids. A lot of them express their emotions through anger and violence when they are really feeling sad, lonely, hurt, and confused. When they are able to identify their true feelings then God can really start to work on those parts of their heart.

Learning about sadness.

Please continue to pray that God will open the hearts of the kids to His healing. I am blessed to be a part of this process daily!

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!

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.

Sensory Play

If you follow me on Facebook you know that a few days ago I made rainbow pasta for my Life Skills (a.k.a. play therapy) kids. I thought it turned out really cool and was excited to see how the kids reacted to it.

I tried it on Monday with several kids and it didn't go over very well. They would pick up a few strands, smell it, move it around in the box, and then ask to play with something else. I figured it was a bust but I kept the box of spaghetti thinking that, since I had spent so much time making it, I could at least try again with another group of kids later that week.

So, on Wednesday, I met with my second set of Life Skills kids. I pulled out the spaghetti and put a few plastic jewels in it hoping to entice the kids to at least look through it for a few minutes. I was skeptical though; at this point the box had been in the trunk of our car for a few days and the spaghetti was moist, sticky, and had the sickly-sweet smell of gluten. Not exactly what I would call enticing.

I set the box out and called in one of the kids who I thought might like it. We started with a worksheet but before I could even get going with it they had spotted the box. Within minutes they were wrist deep in the spaghetti smooshing it around and grabbing it by the fistful. They loved it! After about 10 or 15 minutes the child was ready to move on but it held their attention and helped with some of the other issues we'd been having in sessions.

Child #1, they definitely enjoyed the spaghetti. 

I left the box out for the next child who I also thought might benefit from it and they reacted the exact same way. I tried to start with another activity but they grabbed the box of spaghetti before I could even finish with the introduction. This child was even more into sensory play than the first child. They grabbed the spaghetti, squished it, listened to how it sounded, smelled it, and then began to take it in and out of the box in piles. At that point I wished that I had a plastic mat instead of a cloth one and that the spaghetti wasn't so sticky that it basically became glued to every surface it touched but the point of the session was to allow the child to explore and process on their own. So, I let it happen (and later spent 10 minutes trying to sweep sticky spaghetti off the floor).

Making a huge pile with the spaghetti noodles.

Really wishing I had a plastic mat right about now...

I don't know if the spaghetti box will be sticking around, it's basically a mushy pile of dirty, smelly spaghetti noodles now, but I think some different sensory play activities will be incorporated into sessions for sure.

Life Skills

I'm really excited to announce that I have started my Life Skills groups/classes/meetings at Peris! For the last two and a half weeks I have been meeting with about 10 kids for 30-45 minutes each to help discuss problems they may be having. Some of them are very aggressive, some have trouble expressing their emotions appropriately, some are anxious and depressed, some have trouble sitting still...and I meet with them and work on these issues with them.

In Life Skills we use the sand tray to illustrate things we may be thinking, feeling, or experiencing.

We also use fun sensory objects like rainbow spaghetti to help process sensations.

This is really the work that I love doing. I love seeing kids learn to empower themselves and work through their issues. The kids enjoy it and will come up to me any time I'm at the orphanage and ask when we're going to be meeting together again. There are even kids who stand at the door to our meeting room and ask me every time I poke my head out if they can come meet with me too.

Working with the miniatures is really fun!

I hope to share a little more about my work with the kids. For privacy purposes I can't reveal too much information about the kids that I'm working with or the problems that they're facing but I can let you know how to pray for them.

Processing things about our strengths and weaknesses by using the miniatures and the doll house.

Learning that we can face scary or difficult things by working with the miniatures.

I'm still continuing to help with Character Classes and Youth Group at both Peris and Voluntari. It's nice to have a little break in between Life Skills days. Seeing five kids in just three hours is intense! Especially when they all want to dump out all the toy miniatures and throw sand and rainbow pasta around the room.

Talking about how we can handle some of the issues that we face.

Exploring emotions through play.

Today will be my third session with some of the kids and I'm already starting to see improvements. Pray for me and the kids as we begin to talk about some of challenges they are facing. Also, pray for the attitudes and mentalities of the orphanage staff. It's not an easy task to look after these kids every day and some of them aren't qualified to deal with the problems these kids present with. Pray for continued connections with the kids and that I will have the ability to help them build a safe space for sharing and growing.

Play Therapy Supplies

One of the things I enjoy most about mental health counseling with kids is that I get to do play therapy. I love having activities for the kids to do when I show up because I believe that a child's work is play (as the famous Jean Piaget and Maria Montessori have pointed out) and that through this play they learn a lot about themselves and the world. That being said I have spent the last year or so gathering up play therapy items. I wanted to share some of them with you because they are so easy to acquire (you might already have some at your home) and so easy to use. Yesterday I actually spent some time assembling some different sensory/sand trays.

Sand trays are the backbone of many play therapy techniques and can be used in a lot of ways. I wanted to make two sand trays: one "traditional" and one sensory. The sensory one has cloud dough in it which has a wonderful, soft texture but also allows for some sculpting and building. Here's how I got my trays ready.

First I picked up some lock top boxes from Wal-Mart (about $4 each).

To one box I added 3 boxes of cheap cake mix.

This is what cloud dough is! You can also make it with flour and vegetable oil but for less than $1 a box this was the easiest and cheapest way to make it.

Cloud dough is lots of fun. It feels awesome and it has some mold-able properties to it.

The only thing I would suggest is using some wet wipes when you are finished. Even after brushing my hands off there was quite a bit of residue left.

After that I popped the top on and I'm ready to go!

The cloud dough box can be used with young kids for exploring textures and for imaginative play. I will use it in a way somewhat similar to a sand tray and will probably put some figures in it for my kids to act out or create scenes in. Sensory play is really important for kids with autism and ADHD because of its soothing effects and exploratory properties. The feel of cloud dough makes it a great sensory play tool!

Later this week I will show you how I made my "traditional" sand tray with some not so traditional items.

In full disclosure I'm not a certified play therapist. I do use play therapy techniques frequently at my job and I receive supervision on a regular basis. If you are interested in learning more about play therapy or finding a fully licensed and registered play therapist check out this website.