Valentine's Day (I can't believe I forgot to blog about this!)

So I know it's a little late now but... in English Club on Feb. 13th we learned about Valentine's Day! We learned some vocabulary words associated with the day and made some awesome Valentines for our loved ones (in English of course!). I also had the memorize 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

Here are a few pictures:

He made his Valentine for me... I felt so bad having to correct his "I love my ticher"! He is a sweetheart!







Inu... he is a trip! He is also very smart...we like to have fun!










This is Emma. She is so smart, gorgeous, and super sweet. She is really going to an incredible woman when she grows up!

Seasons Change

As I walked "home" today... I looked around me and the realization of change hit me. Snow has started to melt and the hills have bare spots with exposed dead grass. Spring is nearing and so is my return. I leave here in less than 2 weeks. The things that seemed so foreign to me when I arrived are a distant thought now. The unfamiliar has become a comfort and a joy. I have fallen in love with this country and it's people. The landscape here is beautiful but you can see how the people who have inhabited it have stripped it and turned the beauty into a sad reminder of oppression.

As the next 12 days pass I'm not sure how I will spend my time. I love the children at Casa de Copii, I have my church friends from Petrosani, my English Club girls... my prayers for friends were definitely answered and now I have to leave them. I am grateful for the friendships I've made and am trying to understand that seasons come and go but the Lord is unchanging and sovereign!

"He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding" Daniel 2:21

As spring arrives I intend on preparing myself for the summer and fall. I want to become better equipped. I want to learn to teach English as a second language, I want to continue learning Romanian and I want to continue growing in the Lord.

I truly believe I will be coming back to Romania. I look forward to seeing how God works that out, as he most certainly has had control over this season. Thank you for your continued love and support. Much Love-

(PS. I am working on a post of a recap of the children and how they have grown since I've gotten here... stay tuned!)

Beauty from Ashes

Last week I made a little trip up to Oradea. It's a large city here in Romania near the Hungarian border. The idea was to meet up with my new friends Corey and Diana Burba to observe and learn about what they do here in Romania and also hop over to Hungary to update my visa.

Corey is an American who back in 2001 worked with Romanian orphans in the states... this sparked an interest and the Lord gave him a desire to help the orphans of Romania. He made his first trip here in 2002 and realized that this is where God was calling him to be. He began Romanian Orphan Ministries and has been helping orphans here ever since. I personally love his tough love mentality and fatherly approach to working with them. He and his wife Diana (who is Romanian) live in a house that they rent (the Beauty from Ashes Center) and currently have 3 girls living with them... and a multitude of kids coming over and being mentored and exposed to truth. If you'd like to read more about Corey and his story you can at www.romanianorphanministries.com... I was extremely impressed with the organization, the girls, the teamwork, real family environment and the time and effort Corey, Diana and the rest of the staff put forth with the girls.

In an effort to raise money to continue supporting the orphans they minister to they have begun a little business. The girls at the Beauty from Ashes Center in Oradea make the most beautiful greeting cards! They girls enjoy being creative and artistic. Also they have a certain amount of cards they are to make so they are learning time management and when they are done you can tell they are proud of the beautiful things they have made. I actually got to helped them and LOVED it (but anyone who knows me knows that kind of thing is my cup of tea!). Soon they will add a link onto their website so that you can buy them directly from there. If you are interested in purchasing some cards contact me and I can direct you to Corey. Here are just a few pictures I took during my visit... there are so many more to choose from!







Also if you are interested in reading more about daily life at the center and exactly what goes on there you can read Corey's blog here http://blog.romanianorphanministries.com and believe me life is never boring at the Beauty from Ashes Center! :)

I am very thankful for making new friends and seeing how other people run things here. It was an encouragement to me and I hope and feel that I will be able to see all the girls and staff at the center again. Much Love.

Stickers!

So last week the kids and I played with stickers! Whitney Beach sent me a package and her sweet grandma contributed stickers to this package. The kids and I have been making all sort of artwork with them. I've found Sebi is very creative while David and Delia just enjoy sticking stickers on any surface available. One day Mama Gabby, Petre (15) and Pinti (20) even joined in on the fun! Here are a few pictures of the kids and their artwork.

I mean WOW.

I was invited to go to a part of the mountains by my friends Andreea a Karina. Andreea's dad offered to drive us there and take us sledding! It was absolutely stunning, I mean WOW. I wish I could have taken every single person there to show them the awesome beauty and majesty of our Lord! Here are a few pictures, but honestly they don't do it justice! :)

The Reality of Winter

The excitement of receiving my Christmas package from my best friend Whitney quickly faded as I walked out the doors of Casa de Copii and was greeted by a mom with her 4 snotty nosed adorable children standing out in the cold hoping for assistance. As I stood there trying to communicate with her I looked down to see what I could give these people. Holding my package I felt rather frivolous and helpless. CDs? Printed tights? DVD? Lip gloss? No... what they wanted was warm clothes and bread. I had nothing to give and what I wanted to give I couldn't verbalize. I told her at my house I have oranges... seriously that's about it. She and the 4 kids followed me home and I ran quickly up stairs to grab as many things I could that I felt like she could possibly need. All I could gather was milk, oranges, a scarf, gloves and chocolate for the kids. I grabbed my Romanian New Testament in hopes that she would read it... or at least know in who's name I was helping them. I came back down and gave all the kids hugs and told them "Jesus loves you" one of the few Romanian phrases I know.

Many people here strongly dislike the gypsy (Roma) people. I'm not saying there isn't truth behind people's allegations towards these people. But I don't think Jesus Christ ever said "take care of the orphans and widows because they are good people and they need help". No, nor did He say, "help the poor, but only the ones who deserve it". None of us deserve anything we are given. It is only by the grace of God we have life and breath.

Please pray for those children, they are precious and cold. I wish I could do more... but for now I can't. Pray the Lord gives me more opportunities to help and serve His people. Much Love.