Steven and Haley

{spring fever}

8:28 AM

Spring is here and with the warm weather (YES!) we have had lots of fun outdoor time with the kids. There was a short-term team here from Canada who brought tons of crafts and stories to do with the kids. We had a lot of fun celebrating Easter with egg hunts, crafts, stories, and dying eggs.

Steven's buddy Fernando

Dan from Canada giving hugs!

Steven and Elvis made a sock puppet

Luella from Canada painting faces!

me and the boys

Steven and I have also taken over teaching the character education class. We teach lessons on different animals and their characteristics, and relate them to the character of God. We have really enjoyed teaching in Romanian and love being able to have discussions with the kids. They have lots of questions and like to learn new things. But, with the weather this warm and summer on the way, they love being outdoors and they can't wait for school to get out! We have had some fun days just hanging out in the sun!

with my little Robi

I put those barettes in Ionela's hair for about 45 minutes, she loved having her hair done! such a girly girl

hanging out

Steven with two of the older boys from youth group

Lots of exciting things are coming up for us:

We are moving into our own apartment! I swore I would never move again (like, I say that every time we've ever moved...) but it will be so fun to decorate our own place- pictures coming soon!
I was asked to help prepare an Autism/special needs presentation for a special needs orphanage about two hours from where we live. Another staff member and I will be preparing this for the fall, hoping to give these teachers some extra support and resources. Please pray because the presentation will be in Romanian, and there is a lot of vocabulary I know in English that I will need to translate!
We are preparing to start a reading resource program in the fall. We will be working with kids ages 7-18 on Romanian reading skills. Most of the kids at the main orphanage in which we work have some kind of disability. Reading is such an important skill for their futures, and we hope to tap into their potential and give them the resources to make progress and experience success! This will be a huge challenge and undertaking for us, but we are excited to create the vision God has given us. Please pray for all of the planning and language studying Steven and I have ahead of us!

As always, thank you for your prayers and support that sustain us. We are truly blessed.
{haley}

Coincidence and a Thank You Note

1:00 PM

Haley and I have been reading through Acts and have been blown away by the intricacies of the inception of the church. All of the meetings and new relationships that were born in such a short period of time really speak to the hand of God that was over the Disciples and early believers. The church had needs and God found ways to meet those needs and what struck me even more than God's involvement in the development of the church was the early believers recognition that Jesus himself was in even the smallest of happenings. Nothing was coincidence, nothing was by the sheer talent or work of an individual, but rather there was a very real acknowledgement that everything happened and came from and through God.

I don't know if I have this kind of faith. I know in my core that God is in and works through all things, but do I really take the time to stop and acknowledge that he brings specific people into my life to fulfill certain purposes? Do I ever stop and recognize in the midst of a day that God has me exactly where he wants me? In a world that is so mobile and everything is so accessible it is easy to forget the supremacy of God in all things.

I would like to take a moment and thank God for bringing us here. For the experiences he gives us in everyday. For the friends and family he provided for us. For the blessings and encouragement they give us. For the team members that come and meet various needs in our ministries and in our kids lives. Being here is more than the act of choosing to come or hopping on a plane, but it is rather the specific spirit ordained process of fulfilling some known or unknown role that God has planned.

It is amazing to see our team members that come and pour our their hearts to all of the kids, meet so many needs, and do so with a joyful heart. Even if you feel like you have nothing to offer, come God has something to offer and he may want to use you to offer that something to our kids. Thank you to all who have come, are coming, and to all the needs you meet.

{from students to teachers}

11:09 AM

{family visit!}

12:49 PM

{what we've been up to}

12:23 PM

[in] justice

7:04 AM

I can't be the only person who struggles with this, right? Ever since I was a kid, I could not stand any sort of injustice. I was VERY black and white, good/bad, yes/no. That is all part of growing up, and I have learned a lot about life since then- but I still struggle with accepting and understanding things that aren't fair. Especially when terrible things happend to innocent people, and especially, kids. I literally have physical reactions of stress when I experience people's pain as they deal with something unfair or hurtful. So, of course, God led me to a place where injustice is all around me! I mean it is everywhere on earth, but I am face-to-face with it each day here.

Because of all my thoughts and questions, Steven and I have been doing a personal bible study of justice. Really, it is the basic question of why do bad things happen to good/innocent people. People, pastors, and authors give all kinds of answers to this, and I always think, "yeah ok but I still don't like it." I have never "found" and answer I am satisfied with- and really, none of us ever will, right? I am never going to like injustice.

BUT... (phew! that was seeming kind of hopeless for a moment.) I have decided that I will never understand all of God's infinite wisdom and why things do or don't happen. (Not really a new or profound thought, but I have to rediscover it from time to time.) So, for a while, I am suspending the "why?" I have to decide if my faith in the almighty, loving, and grace-filled God of the universe is strong enough to believe that His love and justice will always prevail. And I do.

I believe it so much that I am trying to understand, at least, my role in it all. What does God say about justice? How does he deliver it to His people? These are all big questions and I am just a little person, so rather than philosophizing about it all, I usually try to understand how it relates to me and the people in my life. Several verses that have been catching my attention are like this one:
"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 22:23
Really, this is about our role in delivering justice on earth. If we love God with our hearts, then we serve him through our life. Two things about this verse caught my attention. God asks us to share what we have. Not to earn more first and then share. Just share what we were given in the first place. Somehow, this easy thing is always hard and we put conditions on it, "when I have more time/money/resources I will give more time/money/resources." The second thing I liked was when it says to help the poor residing among you. Meaning, we are very near people who need help. Meaning we should be helping and loving them. Meaning, that justice does not always just happen, we are called to be a part of delivering God's justice. We are called to be IN justice.

So- I will end these thoughts with a happy picture that describes my heart for doing justice