Monday 8/4/08... Today we had the pleasure of meeting 65 new children from various areas of poor, rural Romania. What an amazing moment- seeing and meeting each of them for the first time! The smiles outlasted anything I had ever experienced before. We witnessed the power of the Holy Sprit lifting brokenness and renewing laughter in a moments time. Many of the children are ages 8 to 16, most younger. Both boys and girls are here at camp this year. Some have had the opportunity to experience this before, however, many have not. Each child has their own story...their own special story. A story beyond any of our Western world imaginations!
Knowing this...and living this have now become two completely different things. Everything in this world is a creation of God...his children being the most important. It is up to us to take care of one another. Forget ourselves and take care of one another.
One verse that came to mind today was this:
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6
Today was full of adventure: Soccer, volleyball, running, jumping, playing frisbee, singing, laughing, and learning. Learning of who we are to each of these children, and especially, who we are in Christ! We enjoyed the company of one another immensely, and look forward to what the week brings. Today we shared introductions, and only touched the surface in our new friendships. The Spirit is alive in this place, and growing by the moment!
In addition to the children, we got a chance to meet and share stories with the Romanian team...as well as language lessons! They are an incredible group of people, and we are very lucky to have them here with us.
We continue to thank each of you for your prayers and support through this short journey. This is such a beautiful place, and I encourage you to sneak a peek at the blog once in a while to see what God is doing here!
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:10
We miss you all, and look forward to sharing more.
On Behalf of the Team....
Vanessa
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Days Unu & Doi @ Camp of the Good Shepherd
Big Changes since last year! A building expansion. The new kitchen is two stories plus a loft high and sooo sweet. But not in service yet. We met and got to know our Camarillo, Ca. team-mate, Jana, on the hour drive from Sibiu, central Romania to Lotrioara (Low-tree-water - phonetic spelling) valley camp site. Amazing preparations God has brought her through just to get her here! A clear sign of what He wants to accomplish through her.
Beautiful clear skies on our one & half hour hike to the mountain summit that expanded to three hours due to over- creative trail blazing. Awesome views of rural mountain living unchanged for generations.
Debbie , the ministry founder, gave a presentation of the history and vision of Heart of Hope. Our hearts broke to hear the situations these kids face. Please pray that they hear a clear Gospel message so they can move through their dark valleys in Jesus' hand. By God's Spirit we all caught the vision and are eager to meet our Romanian counterparts tomorrow at ten a.m. We are asking for our spirits to be strengthened through your prayers. Already my lost backpack, with passport, and Mitch's camera have returned by God's grace. Truly we don't get much done without God's help: very little in the physical, let alone in the eternal.
We are very happy to be here as servants of the Most High and pray to be sensitive to his leading. Thank you for sending us!! May The Kingdom grow with many glorious additions!
Frank for Team
Beautiful clear skies on our one & half hour hike to the mountain summit that expanded to three hours due to over- creative trail blazing. Awesome views of rural mountain living unchanged for generations.
Debbie , the ministry founder, gave a presentation of the history and vision of Heart of Hope. Our hearts broke to hear the situations these kids face. Please pray that they hear a clear Gospel message so they can move through their dark valleys in Jesus' hand. By God's Spirit we all caught the vision and are eager to meet our Romanian counterparts tomorrow at ten a.m. We are asking for our spirits to be strengthened through your prayers. Already my lost backpack, with passport, and Mitch's camera have returned by God's grace. Truly we don't get much done without God's help: very little in the physical, let alone in the eternal.
We are very happy to be here as servants of the Most High and pray to be sensitive to his leading. Thank you for sending us!! May The Kingdom grow with many glorious additions!
Frank for Team
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The team!
We are all meeting in Sibiu on Saturday where we will be picked up by Debbie (Heart of Hope director) and she will be taking us to camp.
Please pray that we are all healthy, safe and ready to start camp this next week. Also pray that everything will be ready for Monday when the kids come to camp. We will have 70 boys and girls come that day. Please pray for their safety as they travel to camp and health as they arrive at camp.
We will update you on our last two weeks once we arrive at camp. Thank you all for your prayers.
Please pray that we are all healthy, safe and ready to start camp this next week. Also pray that everything will be ready for Monday when the kids come to camp. We will have 70 boys and girls come that day. Please pray for their safety as they travel to camp and health as they arrive at camp.
We will update you on our last two weeks once we arrive at camp. Thank you all for your prayers.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Passport!
Frank, Vanessa and Mitch were able to get up to Sibiu and Frank was able to get back his passport. We are tired, but doing well.
Today it was hot, with occasional rain periods. Tomorrow I head up to Cluj to visit family and the other three are off to continue their adventures around the country.
Jilda
Today it was hot, with occasional rain periods. Tomorrow I head up to Cluj to visit family and the other three are off to continue their adventures around the country.
Jilda
Arrived Safely!
We left Portland at 1:05 PM. We slept, ate, read and watched movies on our 10.5 hour flight to Frankfurt. In Frankfurt, Germany we had enough time to go through all the security check points before making to the gate and getting to relax for a little bit before we were on our next flight to Romania.
The flight was 1.5 hours. It was bumpy and we were feeling a little nauseous when we got off the plane. We passed through passport control and we were off to get our luggage. All pieces of luggage arrived and we were on our way out to meet our driver. We were asked by multiple people if we wanted a taxi to which we responded "no thank you" but they kept walking with us telling up how they had the best fares.
The weather was hot and humid, we were tired and a little delirious.
We put all our luggage in the van and we were on our way to drop off Frank, Vanessa and Mitch as they were staying in Bucharest to explore the country.
Amber (the intern at the camp), Florin (our driver) and I were off on our 6 hour drive to the camp. Amber and I were sleeping on and off. Sweating like crazy.
We arrived at the camp where it was nice and cool. Met the California team.
As I was getting my stuff together to leave the camp I noticed a bag. After looking inside I realized it was Frank's with some of his clothes and his passport. We tried to call and find where they were but was not able to, so we emailed them with the phone number and this morning we were able to talk.
We will be meeting in Sibiu and off again to explore the country.
Thank you all for you prayers and continue to pray for our health and safety.
Jilda
The flight was 1.5 hours. It was bumpy and we were feeling a little nauseous when we got off the plane. We passed through passport control and we were off to get our luggage. All pieces of luggage arrived and we were on our way out to meet our driver. We were asked by multiple people if we wanted a taxi to which we responded "no thank you" but they kept walking with us telling up how they had the best fares.
The weather was hot and humid, we were tired and a little delirious.
We put all our luggage in the van and we were on our way to drop off Frank, Vanessa and Mitch as they were staying in Bucharest to explore the country.
Amber (the intern at the camp), Florin (our driver) and I were off on our 6 hour drive to the camp. Amber and I were sleeping on and off. Sweating like crazy.
We arrived at the camp where it was nice and cool. Met the California team.
As I was getting my stuff together to leave the camp I noticed a bag. After looking inside I realized it was Frank's with some of his clothes and his passport. We tried to call and find where they were but was not able to, so we emailed them with the phone number and this morning we were able to talk.
We will be meeting in Sibiu and off again to explore the country.
Thank you all for you prayers and continue to pray for our health and safety.
Jilda
Saturday, July 12, 2008
July 19th
The team will be leaving the mainland on July 19th from Portland Oregon. Please pray for safe travels and that everyone stays healthy. We will post when we arrive in Romania.
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