Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Weakness

Romania has been a great experience, since I've been here. God is shaping me to become a better person through my experiences in Romania. I wrote weakness as my theme of this letter because I have been challenged in this area. I have had a hard time learning the language. I want so much to be able to communicate with the children in the orphanages. I have learned to accept my circumstances just as they are. God is sovereign over everything. Numbers 6:24-26 reminds me to not wear myself out with little stuff like that, but instead to let thankfulness and trust be my guide through each day to come, knowing that is what pleases the Lord most.

I have also learned that even though I cannot communicate with the children, there are other ways of communicating with them. I have found that hugging and laughing with them is the most effective way to show each child that they are important in God's eyes. I am always amazed at how much the children crave to be loved. I had the opportunity to take some girls from the government apartments out to McDonald's and one particular girl would not leave my side. She held my hand all the way to McDonald's. That's all she wanted. She didn't care if I talked to her, all she wanted was to be loved. She was really cute because every time I looked at her she always had a huge smile on her face. Love always wins.

Thank you so much for continuing to pray for me. Your prayers mean a lot to me. I hope you all are doing good.

Have a great day.

Wed, 16 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Hi,

Wow, Romania is amazing and I've only been here a day. I feel like I'm a legend here. All the Romanians (Staff) treat me so great. They are so hospitable. They always have a way of amazing me by what they say and do for their country. This morning I had worship with the staff and it was incredible. We then headed off to orphanage #6 where Roni, Lili,and I worked with the disabled kids. Roni is the other intern here from Salem, Or. She is a really sweet girl. At the orphanage we had an opportunity to take the kids to the park because the weather was so beautiful. The kids made me laugh so much. They love bubbles, that's for sure. It was neat cause I got to see most of the kids from the past trips. After orphanage #6 we had an incredible lunch and headed off to Chitila. Chitila is an all girls orphanage. I really enjoyed being at Chitila. We played with the girls, danced, colored, and played lots of board games. The girls today learned about the country Spain. Every 2 weeks, a Romanian staff prepares facts and crafts for the girls to learn. They really enjoyed that.

A girl from the Florida team knows a good friend of hers who lives in Romania and actually works with another organization, so we went and hung out with them. It was so exciting to hear how they are contributing to the country. It has been a very difficult day for me because of the time difference. I fell asleep while someone was praying. Oops! I am barely awake to write the letter. I apologize if I am not making any sense. Tomorrow will sound better (hopefully).

I hope you all are doing great. Thank you again for being part of my missions trip by supporting me financially. I could not have made it without your prayers and support. It is a blessing to be back to this country. I hope I can get the courage somehow to come back to America. I am really enjoying being here.

I better finish up here. Thanks again everyone. Talk to you all soon. Please continue to pray for me and don't be shy to e-mail me. I love receiving e-mails.

In Christ,
Monica

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