Summer 2018 Wrap-Up

Summer 2018 Wrap-Up

June-August 2018

Summer Fun!

It's hard to believe that summer is over! The months fly by when we are busy each day with summer camps. We started the summer in Nenciulești with the little kids from Roșiori. Then we did two teen boys camps, two teen girls camps, a camp in Alexandria with the girls from the special school, three camps for the kids from Periș and Voluntari, and an arts camp for a grand total of 10 camps! We had an amazing time with our pirate themed curriculum that looked at the life of Peter.

What Comes Next...

Now that summer ministry has wrapped up we are prepping for fall activities. I will be leading Character Classes, small groups, and individual therapy sessions at both Periș and Voluntari orphanages. I'm looking forward to what the new school year holds for each of the kids that I will be working with!

Special Thanks

I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Grace Baptist Church and to anyone who donated to my grandfather's memorial fund. Thanks to the special donations that we received we were able to purchase a new printer and two new whiteboards for your ministry. Thank you for your support!

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!

Giving Through H2H

Prayer and Praise

Praises: Successful summer ministry Heather and I were able to visit three of our kids who are at the orphanage in Săftica. Two were moved there due to behavior issues and the third is there because she is pregnant. We are very grateful for the opportunity to continue to minister to these kids. We have already begun the process for preparing for summer ministry 2019! Continue to have good, open relationships with the caretakers and directors at all the orphanages. Prayer Requests: Fall ministry planning Ionela T. (at Săftica), she is 16 and will give birth to her first child in just a few weeks. Pray that we will know how best to guide her throughout this process. School starts on September 10th for our kiddos! We have received word that there may be renovations on the back building that we use for our programs. Please pray that any issues with space and the renovation would be resolved and that we will continue to have adequate room for our programs. This month we have had many kids placed in foster homes or who have gone back to live with their biological parents. We pray for smooth transitions, good care, that this is truly the best for them, that the families would feel supported, and that we can continue to keep in touch with the kids. Also, please pray for our peace as we often do not have a chance to say good-bye to these kids or even know they are leaving until after they are gone.

Visit H2H's Website

Summer Catch Up

I know that I am woefully behind on updating the blog. I will try to be better about staying on top of things in the future but, in the meantime, check out the link below to view my summer newsletter to read all about our summer camps.

http://conta.cc/2vEsJ6p

Summer Fun

Well, it has certainly been a busy summer here in Romania! I have barely had time to sit down and think since June started. I just released an e-newsletter talking about all that went on but I have so many pictures and experiences to talk about that a blog post was in order.

We started the summer with "pre-school" camp at Voluntari. I say "pre-school" but really these are our kids between pre-K and 1st grade age. Shelley and Natalie, two of our team members, prepared a great camp that played off our larger theme for the summer of "The Circus".

Remus running a clown relay race.

We wanted the kids to see that the world can use magic and allusions to try and distract us from the truth about God.

Sometimes you just need a helping hand!

Making crafts about Noah and the ark.

Our central Bible verse was 1 Corinthians 13:13: "Now these three remain: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love." Each day we would have skits, object lessons, crafts, and games with the kids.

After "pre-school" camps came day camps. Each day we brought in groups of kids from either Voluntari or Peris to the team house where we continued with the circus theme. We had some special stations for the kids during game time: a trampoline, huge body bumpers for human bumper cars, and a slack line!

Dani trying the slack line.

Making clown cupcakes for snack time.

We had skits from the strong man and the bearded lady that taught about how faith, hope, and love helped characters from the Bible and how to apply these principles in daily life.

Tim on the trampoline.

Daniel getting ready to swim...you can never be too prepared!

Andreea taking a dive. This was her first time being at our pool for the summer. Our kids are fearless!

They love to swim but they can still get a little cold as Remus demonstrates.

Following day camps we had teen camps. First, we brought all the girls in from Rosiori, Voluntari, and Peris for a girls camp. Then we had the Voluntari and Rosiori boys together and ended with a camp for the Peris boys. As a special treat we took each camp group to a trampoline park. Everyone had a lot of fun jumping off obstacles, playing dodge ball, and tumbling into the foam pit.

Alina at the trampoline park.

Taking a run on the tumbling mat towards the ball pit. Even the most reluctant kids all got involved by the end of the day!

We also had daily panels where we discussed some serious issues with the kids such as running away, dating and sexual relationships, and developing a personal relationship with Christ. The kids were able to take each discussion seriously and we hope and pray that they were touched by the messages presented.

Human bumper cars during teen camp.

One morning was spent with the boys at the park where we played a human version of foosball!

This summer we had an amazing number of volunteers come out to help. At one point there were 37 people from around North America all living and serving under one roof together! And that's not including all of the regular, full time staff members who are here. Because we had so many helping hands we were able to have play days with the kids at the orphanage who were not involved in camp. Heather and I lead small groups of team members several times each week to share a story, make a craft, and play games with the kids.

"Elephant Golf" during our animal week themed play time.

Making trees out of our hands and discussing how each of us is unique.

It was a good way for the kids to get to spend time with the team members and for everyone to have fun and develop some special relationships.

With the conclusion of camps everyone has had a little bit of time to catch their breath and relax. We had a Canadian intern, Alex, with us until mid-August so we took the time to go sightseeing in Bran at Dracula's Castle.

Bran Castle

We didn't actually go inside the castle since the line was so long but we still did some shopping and sightseeing while we were there!

I was also able to go to the baby hospital for the first time in a long while. It was great to see the little ones there!

In just a few short days I will be leaving for a week of vacation in Greece on the island of Crete. Jen, Jenny, Talitha, Heather, and I have planned a little get away to rest and reset before school starts on the 14th of September. We have already started fall ministry planning and I'm excited to see what God has in store for the coming months!