Today there seemed to be a bit of a theme with the kids... my hands- every time the kids would pile into my lap the wound up with their fingers intertwined with mine... What would Jesus' hands look like? Where would you find them...
As I'm finding myself increasingly captivated by the kids here I'm constantly humbled by their capacity to love. It takes but a moment for them to demonstrate more love through their actions than most adults do in weeks- at one of the orphanages we were visiting today I noticed a child walking around giving each of the other kids a bite of the candy bar he'd just won by beating them in a game... selfless love... Want to see Jesus? Look to the "least of these"...
One of the highlights of this trip has been the opportunity to spend more time with the Romanian staff here- the women who we've been staying with have been unbelievably welcoming- genuine servants hearts... I'm constantly humbled and encouraged by them. Its really been a blessing to hear more of their stories and hearts... something I'll definitely miss. Yet another opportunity to see Jesus.
Towards the end of the night I was talking to Sanda in the kitchen and somehow or another Sandel, one of the boys wound up bringing out Mariana's guitar for me to play, next thing you know Sanda and I are singing worship songs together. Sometimes she sang in Romanian while I sang in English... but we were singing the same song and worshiping the same God... When you're part of the same family language barriers come down pretty fast- by the end of the night the other three girls and Mariana had joined us... what was planned to be an early to bed night got a bit late- but God had something better in store. :o)
What would Jesus' Hands look like...
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Rosiori
Yesterday a smaller team of us split of to head to Rosiori,a smaller town about 2 hours away from Bucharest. Here the orphanage system is structured a bit differently where the kids are actually in apartments and we spent the day distributing gifts and hosting Christmas parties. I wasn't sure what to expect, how "useful" we could be since we'd only be with the kids for a few hours at most- and likely wont see these particular ones again. As always, God surprises me with the moments He blesses me with and the lessons I learn.
Moments after we arrived I had kids piled on my lap... I was grateful for two legs so that I could hold more than one at a time! I love how comfortable I feel in the midst of the language barrier... yet another reminder that love is a universal language- I couldn't quite figure out why the kids were so drawn to me- but I wasn't complaining: Fact: I could cuddle orphans all day every day. At the second location more kids piled on me, at one point somehow I was holding three, one of the girls in particular seemed very attached- Rebecca, a staff member translated what she was rapidly saying to me at one point and it was "I love you... I love you a lot." How these kids can have so much love... and pour it out so willingly and freely- something I wish you all could experience. Ever want to know what unconditional love looks like? Spend a few hours loving on an orphan- you'll get so much more in return.
I felt a bit unnerved with the last place we went to, all the kids were older... I'm used to little kids- all they need is love and attention... and I dont speak Romanian. Upon entry I pretty much figured the Lord wouldn't use me at all there and was pretty content to just hang back. I situated myself to kind of hang back and observe more as opposed to the last few places where I'd kind of thrown myself right in. While Mark, one of the staff members was explaining the bingo game we were going to play Sanda, one of the Romanian staff called me over to the corner where she was sitting closely with some of the kids (Romanian culture has much smaller bubbles- its not uncommon to see people holding hands, linking arms and in general sitting very closely) Anyhow- she asked me to explain my tattoos to one of the kids, he was quite interested. So next thing I know I've got a group of Romanian teenagers gathered around me, attentively listening while I essentially walked through an abbreviated version of my faith story. After this I found myself yet again, tossed into the middle of things, not as useless as I'd anticipated... The best thing about this? I later learned that this group of orphanages is run by a non-christian/ director, so the H2H staff is somewhat limited to what they can talk to the kids about- however if they're directly asked... funny how the Lord can use a girls tattoos. Way to go God :o)
Came back for some quality time with the team- I really do love these people, lots of laughs, intense game of spoons, and later in the evening, seriously blessed conversation. Somehow wound up talking with the staff about my heart for missions, especially Eastern Europe... letting go of your dreams for God's better ones, everything that'd happened with Africa, and where I'm currently at- I was asked "Where does Romania fit into this?" I like that question- and its currently resting on my heart...
Lord, where does Romania fit into all of this?
Moments after we arrived I had kids piled on my lap... I was grateful for two legs so that I could hold more than one at a time! I love how comfortable I feel in the midst of the language barrier... yet another reminder that love is a universal language- I couldn't quite figure out why the kids were so drawn to me- but I wasn't complaining: Fact: I could cuddle orphans all day every day. At the second location more kids piled on me, at one point somehow I was holding three, one of the girls in particular seemed very attached- Rebecca, a staff member translated what she was rapidly saying to me at one point and it was "I love you... I love you a lot." How these kids can have so much love... and pour it out so willingly and freely- something I wish you all could experience. Ever want to know what unconditional love looks like? Spend a few hours loving on an orphan- you'll get so much more in return.
I felt a bit unnerved with the last place we went to, all the kids were older... I'm used to little kids- all they need is love and attention... and I dont speak Romanian. Upon entry I pretty much figured the Lord wouldn't use me at all there and was pretty content to just hang back. I situated myself to kind of hang back and observe more as opposed to the last few places where I'd kind of thrown myself right in. While Mark, one of the staff members was explaining the bingo game we were going to play Sanda, one of the Romanian staff called me over to the corner where she was sitting closely with some of the kids (Romanian culture has much smaller bubbles- its not uncommon to see people holding hands, linking arms and in general sitting very closely) Anyhow- she asked me to explain my tattoos to one of the kids, he was quite interested. So next thing I know I've got a group of Romanian teenagers gathered around me, attentively listening while I essentially walked through an abbreviated version of my faith story. After this I found myself yet again, tossed into the middle of things, not as useless as I'd anticipated... The best thing about this? I later learned that this group of orphanages is run by a non-christian/ director, so the H2H staff is somewhat limited to what they can talk to the kids about- however if they're directly asked... funny how the Lord can use a girls tattoos. Way to go God :o)
Came back for some quality time with the team- I really do love these people, lots of laughs, intense game of spoons, and later in the evening, seriously blessed conversation. Somehow wound up talking with the staff about my heart for missions, especially Eastern Europe... letting go of your dreams for God's better ones, everything that'd happened with Africa, and where I'm currently at- I was asked "Where does Romania fit into this?" I like that question- and its currently resting on my heart...
Lord, where does Romania fit into all of this?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
ROMANIA!!!
I'm finding myself struggling to even know where to begin- perhaps its that I'm at a place where I'm taking so much in that I've yet to process it myself in order to accurately convey my thoughts? Either way I figure I better at least attempt this!!
I arrived in Bucharest yesterday, and as the staff here warned us, we would barely remember the day. I do remember the feeling of... realief? as the plane was taking off. There's something about being where you're supposed to be, doing what you're supposed to be doing. Its my heart. I met up with my grandparents for a bit before the flight Monday afternoon, and as my grandpa said "See you in a month" grandma piped in, "You honestly think she'll be back in a month?" I gave her a funny look, but she followed with "I just know you and where your heart is..." My heart. Funny how far away I can find myself from that. When I first moved back to Minnesota I was yet again attempting to establish roots, convincing myself staying put was a good option- problem is, its not me. I guess you could say I dont want to just live in the world around me- I want to change it. My heart is for the orphans, the forgotten, and abandoned of the world and I guess it has been for a long time. I would give anything to spend the rest of my life working as an overseas missionary focused on orphan care...Now its just figuring out the long term when and where. So, we'll see. I know He's up to something- so much about how everything came about makes that painstakingly clear. Just waiting to hear His voice.
I arrived in Bucharest yesterday, and as the staff here warned us, we would barely remember the day. I do remember the feeling of... realief? as the plane was taking off. There's something about being where you're supposed to be, doing what you're supposed to be doing. Its my heart. I met up with my grandparents for a bit before the flight Monday afternoon, and as my grandpa said "See you in a month" grandma piped in, "You honestly think she'll be back in a month?" I gave her a funny look, but she followed with "I just know you and where your heart is..." My heart. Funny how far away I can find myself from that. When I first moved back to Minnesota I was yet again attempting to establish roots, convincing myself staying put was a good option- problem is, its not me. I guess you could say I dont want to just live in the world around me- I want to change it. My heart is for the orphans, the forgotten, and abandoned of the world and I guess it has been for a long time. I would give anything to spend the rest of my life working as an overseas missionary focused on orphan care...Now its just figuring out the long term when and where. So, we'll see. I know He's up to something- so much about how everything came about makes that painstakingly clear. Just waiting to hear His voice.
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