Happy New Year!

January 2019 Update

Handing out gifts at Voluntari.

Lucas and Daniel after getting their presents.

After being home on furlough in December, I was glad to get back to the kids and start the new year with them. We had a team with us for the first week or so of 2019 so we were able to visit the orphanages, play with the kids, and hand out Christmas presents.

Kaylee, Ana, and Heather

Regular Programming

Since the team has been gone I have been working on getting normal programming up and running. This has been a little challenging with my colleague Heather being gone to the States but it was been good getting back to seeing the kids on a regular basis.

Working with the kids at Săftica.

My typical schedule includes a weekly visit to Săftica on Tuesday morning, Character Classes at Periș, individual and small group therapy sessions at Voluntari and Periș, Youth Group and Bible Classes at Periș and Voluntari, and a visit on Saturday morning to Casa Lidia. I'm thankful to have the help of Corny and several of our transition graduates to help with seeing the kids.

Playtime at Casa Lidia after our group lesson.

What's Coming Up

As February begins I plan on continuing with all my various ministry responsibilities. The kids have a short inter-semester break at the beginning of the month and I plan on using that time to do some pre-planning and preparation for the spring.

Above: Darius and his picture of me from a small group lesson. Right: Christina working on a project.

Heather will return from furlough this month and we will continue planning for spring and working together on some music therapy activities that we plan to do with the kids. I will be attending a planning session with Alianța România Fără Orfani (Romania Without Orphans Alliance) in Bran and hope to make some connections there as well as discussing where orphan care in Romania is headed. Heather, Jen, and I will also be taking a quick weekend trip to Milan to visit with a fellow missionary and to regroup for spring. At the end of the month, we will be hosting two returning team members, Cindi and Sarah.

Bible Class at Voluntari.

With Vali and Adela at Casa Lidia. It is amazing how quickly my heart has been stolen by the kids there!

Larisa, Lăcră, and Corny. I am so blessed to have Corny coming to help me with the kids. I couldn't do it without her!

Giving and Support Information

As always, I want to say a huge note of thanks to everyone who supports me financially. Whether it is $5 or $500 your donation makes a big difference to my ministry. Some of my current financial needs are for summer ministry supplies, household repairs, and incidentals for the kids (shampoo, face wash, feminine hygiene products, etc.). If you would like to donate financially through Heart to Heart simply click the link below. You can designate the gift to come to me, one of the other missionaries, or simply to the general fund.

Giving Through H2H

Another way that you can give is to purchase something off my Amazon Wishlist. I have a list for personal items and a list for ministry related items. You can send items directly to me at: Strada Florilor Nr. 124A Snagov, Ilfov Romania 077165

Personal Wishlist

Ministry Supplies Wishlist

Prayer Requests and Praises

Praises: Our new connections at Casa Lidia and Săftica. That all the teachers have been open to having me come and teach Character Classes during the school day (previously I was only working with the third grade). Prayer Requests: One of our boys from Periș, Nicu Costache, will be attending a “re-education center” due to his involvement last year when some of the boys at Periș were assaulted. Pray for his protection and that he will see God’s hand throughout. Continued openness and willingness to work with us from all sites. That we can get more accurate information about what to expect at Periș and Voluntari in the coming months with more and more kids leaving. A productive weekend at the ARFO planning session.

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

May Update

May Update: Parties and Prep

May 2018

Party Time!

May was a month of celebration! Heather and I were able to take our most faithful attendees from the Junior Youth Group and Bible Class from Peris and the Voluntari Youth Group to church and then to our house for pizza, games, and s'mores. The kids had a great time and we love hanging out with them and having them experience worship at our church.

Prepping for Summer

This month we also amped up preparation for summer ministry. This year the theme is Aye Aye, Captain! The original curriculum idea came from Hume Lake camps and Heather and I spent the spring adapting it for our youth camps and younger kids day camps.

We are super excited that this year we will be hosting the youth camps at our house at Snagov! We will be having a four day overnight camp for the boys followed by a four day overnight camp for the girls. The kids will sleep in tents and Steven Perez, a former Heart to Heart staff member, will be the lead speaker. We are thrilled to see what God has in store for our youth!

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: Praise the Lord for our interns who arrived this month. We appreciate so much their good work ethic, willingness to pitch in, and positive attitudes. They have breathed a breath of fresh air into our ministry. Character Classes have finished for the year and the kids have shown improvement in being able to regulate their emotions and be more self-aware. In fact, on their post test, 42% of the kids showed an improvement over their pre-test scores! This seems to indicate that the kids are more self-aware, better able to control their emotions, more empathetic to others, and have better social relationships. Life Skills sessions are going very well. Some of the kids who initially struggled to maintain attention for even 20 minutes are now participating in 45 minute sessions! And all the kids seem to be doing better at talking about how they are feeling and identifying coping skills they can use to help regulate their emotions. Prayer Requests: Summer ministry gets kicked off in just a few short weeks! Our first camp will be in Rosiori with the young kids there. There are still many things to prep and organize before we can head out but I am excited about how things are shaping up and pray that this will be our best summer yet. The others interns as they arrive and the Reno and Wave teams as they come to help us. Pray for our kids who are developing a deeper understanding and more personal relationships with Christ. They so often come under attack from Satan and we pray that they will be strengthened and stand firm in their faith. Pray for the kids, directors, orphanage staff, and team members that we will be ministering to during camps. Pray that the kids will have open hearts and minds and that the words we speak will fall on fertile soil. Pray that the directors and orphanage staff will be cooperative and will work with us and that schedules will not get too crazy. Pray that the team members will have good attitudes and be willing to jump in and serve. And please pray for Heather and I as we lead the camps. Pray that we will have the wisdom needed to handle and problems or challenges as they come up, that we will take care of ourselves and will delegate tasks appropriately, and that we will create an atmosphere for God to work in the hearts of our kids.