Return from Romania!


Dumnezeu bless tu! România is un amazing tara plin de cultura , nou program si inima!
(God bless you! Romania is an amazing country full of culture, new progress and heart!)

I have just returned from spending 5 weeks in Romania with Heart 2 Heart International Ministries. If I could condense my experience in Romania into three words, they would be: freedom, teamwork and healing.

FREEDOM: In one of my first emails, I mentioned how Romania used to run by a Communist dictator named Nicolae Ceausescu. He was extremely controlling, and he was oppressive in many ways. He believed in block apartment housing, so the government could be in control of people’s water, electricity and phone lines. In addition, Ceausescu dictated that women should have more than 5 children and so families were extremely large. The country struggled economically, and so people in Romania didn’t realize how many abandoned babies were starting to fill up orphanages at the time. Lastly, Ceausescu ruthlessly and cruelly persecuted Christian believers like Richard Wurmbrand, who is the founder of Voice of the Martyrs (a ministry that intercedes for the persecuted church). You can read about Pastor Wurmbrand’s story at this website: http://www.persecution.com/about/index.cfm?action=WurmbrandStory


TEAMWORK: I was placed on a team of eight beautiful women and we ministered together at the Alexandria orphanage, an hour and a half from the country’s capital. A typical day was:

Morning Bible Study and Craft for small children (K-6th grade)
Afternoon Bible Study and Craft for the older children (7-12th grade… and older)
Early Evening Group Games (until 6pm)
Prayer / Debrief / Prep for next day
Bedtime (11pm or 12 am)

It became clear that God used each person in a unique and powerful way, and I could see how God blessed our plans and activities when we valued each member of the team and worked closely with one another. As for me, I learned to listen more and speak less. I tend to be very verbal and quick to discuss my ideas, but I was learning that sometimes it was best to be quiet. This would allow more opportunities for my teammates, the ones who were more quiet or needed more time, to be able to speak up in our group time together.

HEALING: What was special for me was to be able to spend time hugging, playing and encouraging the orphans at Alexandria. I think over time I observed how a "healing process" took place in the lives of these kids. An influential passage in the Bible that motivated me to come on this trip and pour my lives into these kids was Isaiah 61:1-3, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives... to comfort all who mourn... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes"

How these kids crave love and affection:
These orphans crave love and affection because they don't get a lot of attention. They are outcasts in Romanian society for a number of reasons. First, the orphans cut their hair and dress like boys, and it was sometimes hard not to refer to a little girl as "he" or "him." (The kids do it because it makes them look tougher, which was sometimes necessary in an orphanage where there are many bullies). Second, a lot of them came from gypsy families and this is not a favorable ethnic group in Romania. Lastly, we worked in a special education orphanage and so these girls were secluded from normal day Romanian culture. One girl who had some mental retardation, but she found a very special place in my heart, was Stella. From the moment I came, she came up to me and wanted a hug. She called me "mama" and has a very special place in my heart.

Although my teammates and myself enjoyed spending time with the kids, we had to make a few adjustments. These orphans were very dirty at times, and they usually did not take care of themselves in regards to proper hygeine (fleas and lice). In addition, some of the orphans were very violent with one another and used a lot of terrible words towards each other. (Fortunately I didn’t hear them because I didn’t know the language).

How we ministered to these kids:
Our team planned many games, crafts and bible studies so we could teach the kids about God’s love. We had 3 staff members who knew Romanian, and the rest of us did our best transcending language through hand games, songs, and simply hugging a child with love. As a team, we decided to give incentives for good behavior because we noticed that some of the kids were very violent with one another. In addition, I had the opportunity to share my testimony about how my relationship with Jesus radically changed my life.

I didn’t know what kind of impact that we would make on these kids, but near the end of our time, we discovered that the kids would sing the songs and go over memory verses when we would leave at night (like Sorina and Nutsi… you can see this picture). In our final days, we wanted the kids to know that although we might have to leave them, God will never leave them. So we brought a lot of kids to church with us, with the hope that these kids would continue to attend and get plugged into the local church fellowship even after we would have to leave.

How I personally saw God touch the lives of these kids: There are so many things that I could share with you, but let me share one story. I have posted a few pictures of some of the children with whom I grew very close, but let me share with you about Steliana. She taught me so many beautiful songs and I felt unconditionally loved by her. I learned that she was one of two girls kidnapped a few years ago by a stranger off the street. After some time, the girls were safely returned to the orphanage but the staff didn’t know exactly what was done to them. It made my heart brake to hear this story, and so I took special joy spending time with Steliana. She was encouraged by our songs and games, but most of all, she enjoyed the hugs that my teammates and myself lavished on her. I shall continue to keep in touch with her and pray for her during this next year.

If you are interested in being involved in this ministry, please talk with me. They always need people to serve on two week, five week or long term missions. One great need is for more male volunteers. If you can't go there personally, H2H is always looking for donation of supplies or money so these things would enable them to minister to the needs of the kids in the orphanages. Feel free to ask me further questions if this is on your heart. (For instance, giving 25 dollars can allow a H2H staff member to throw an ice cream party for 75 kids! )


Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement. It was evident people were praying for our safe travel and blessed time with the kids.

Yeah! June High School Summer Camp in the Julian Mountains!


Wow! God blessed me tremendously through this camp. This is now my third year returning to Camp Alandale, and I love to see how God uses this time to teach us about Him. This camp is a Christian camp that ministers to foster care kids who have been abused. I was the counselor for a young lady named Victoria. It was wonderful to sing songs with her, play in the pool together, and then study the Bible together. Since she was more comfortable reading in Spanish, we used her Spanish Bible for our studies. I must admit that my Spanish pronounciation skills are a bit rusty, but Victoria didn’t mind at all!

Victoria shared with me how she longs to be with her dad in New York, but she doesn’t know if he will take her after she turns 18. Also, she felt very comfortable in a Spanish church but now she must attend an English speaking church because the other one is too far away. This is part of the reason she has run away a few times from her foster homes. I encouraged her to trust God and be obedient to her foster care mom, even if it means that she can’t go to the Spanish church for now. I prayed with her that God would direct her to a Spanish church if it was His will, and that God would help guide her in regards to living with her dad. If you read this, could you take a moment and pray for Victoria as well. Thank you!!