La Revedere Tinca Part 2: House 2

Alina and I pose in the last of the sunflowers

This past week I returned to Tinca to meet with Alina (the psychologist for Romanian Relief) and to do some final trainings on how to use the writing equipment with Viorel. Alina also helped me to explain to Viorel that I was leaving to go back to the U.S., but that I loved him very much and would not forget him. He is only 4, so I am not sure how much he "got", but I know it was important to try to explain. I am going to so miss my little guy. He is one amazing child and has captured my heart. Saying goodbye to Alina was also hard. We have become quite close and I will miss our brainstorming sessions, professional collaboration and most of all, our laughter!

Here are some pictures of the younger children in "House 2". Please continue to pray for these children and also for Alina and the other staff.

Maria is all smiles!

Viorel and his masterpiece

Dawn with Cristina (playing the harmonica) and Iasmina

Andrei and his lollipop. He is too cute!

Claudiu loves his frog puppet (with Silviu, house father)

Cristina with Lia (one of the workers)

Dorina enjoying her inghetata (ice cream)

La Revedere Tinca! (Goodbye Tinca): House 1

Before leaving for Prague, we had a little goodbye party with all the kids, complete with party favors (thanks Coreen and Wendy) as well as yummy ice cream. Most of the children can't really understand that I am leaving, but my sweet Abel and Nicoleta kept asking me why I had to leave and when I would be coming back!

Due to the number of pictures I want to post, I am doing 2 entries: one for each house. Here are the older kids from "House 1".

Darling (and daring) Darius

Adorable Abel

Loving Lidia

Nicoleta

Precious Pami

6 Day Countdown

Yes, it's true. In just 6 days I will be back on U.S. soil. Arizona specifically. This last month has been full of excitement, with lots of traveling and tons of pictures/stories to tell. So now I am finally sitting down (it's 11:00 pm Romania time) and trying to figure what to blog. I only have 2 days left in Oradea before heading over to Budapest to spend my last 3 days there in hopes of having some "decompression" time before coming home. Upon returning from Prague, I have been busy seeing kids, saying goodbye to families and dear friends, and trying to keep focused on what He has for me each day. Last Friday was my final day in Tinca. I then spent the weekend in Nojorid with the Dorog family, especially to have a few more days to play with Ipu. This week I had my last home visit with Cristina and returned to the Rehab Center to see Dora. Tomorrow I will be at the Children's Hospital to say goodbye to the kids and staff. I will also be providing a few hours of training for Rachel, a fellow Calvary Chapel missionary. I am nearly packed and am coming back with less than I came with- yea!

Julia and Cristina checking out their new bubbles

Michelle and Cristina "having a ball" during therapy

Chloe's Clothes

My little friend Chloe Stafford (she's 5 years old) has been donating her clothes to Romania since she was just a baby. Well, maybe her mom Bobbie started this tradition, but when Chloe Nae-Nae was only 2, she promptly and independently emptied her drawers and joyfully gave me clothes to take to "R-mania" (her cute way of saying Romania). This year I sent the clothes to Nicu and Silvana to give out in the gypsy villages. When I was visiting with Silvana, she shared some pictures of the children receiving the clothes and told me how appreciative the parents and children were, especially to receive tops and bottoms together! One of the favorite outfits was actually made by Chloe's mom. Thanks Chloe for sharing Jesus's love with the kids in Sacuieu!

Visting the Hagiu's

Nicu and Silvana Hagiu

Back in July (the 21-23), I had the incredible privilege to spend a few days with Nicu and Silvana Hagiu, the Calvary Chapel/native missionaries serving in the gypsy villages of Sacuieu and Calatele. After attending the baptisms in Sacuieu a few weeks earlier, we had planned for me to return, specifically to work with a little girl named Claudia. I also needed to deliver all the "Jesus Loves You goody bags" that my dear friend Jill and her neighborhood girls had made for the kids here. However, when I arrived we learned that most of the village was now up in the mountains harvesting blueberries. Due to heaving raining and problems with their car, we were unable to drive up to the mountains to meet up with the family. So instead I was blessed with 3 days of refreshing and sweet fellowship, including getting to go to Tuesday night church service in Calatele. Church service was held in Mama Maria's home, with Feri (one of the men who was recently baptised) and several young girls in attendance. After church, I was able to meet up with little Marinela, one of the girls who stole mine and Brenna's hearts last year. It was an encouraging time just being with the Hagiu's and seeing their servant hearts in action.

Girls Attending Church Service in Calatele

This last week I received an email from Silvana saying that they gave out some of the gifts to the kids in Calatele, and that the children were delighted to know children in the U.S. also love Jesus! Please continue to pray for the Hagiu's, especially as Nicu has now been made the senior pastor for the 2 villages, as they transition to being under Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa's missionary board, for Silvana as she ministers to the women and children, and also for the provision of a reliable car (or for their car to be safely repaired) as they have recently had to walk to the villages which takes several hours!

The kids of Calatele say Multumesc (thank you) for their "Jesus Loves You Bags"

Lazereni with Hope 4 Kids International

Yesterday I was surfing the internet and decided I should check out H4KI's website to see when Tom Eggum and his team would be arriving. As some of you may remember, I served alongside H4KI when I lived here 2002-2004 and have also helped Tom with short term teams the summers of 2005 and 2006. As I entered the site, I noticed a "blog update" and realized they were already here! So after heading on over to the hotel where Tom usually stays and leaving him a message, I heard back from him a few hours later and agreed to meet up with the team today. There are about 10 team members from all over the U.S., ranging from a 14 year old to a few retirees. After an awesome "family devotion" time, we headed out to Lazereni, one of the gypsy villages that H4KI helps to support. Some of the team finished painting the school buildings, while others of us did a VBS-type outreach with the children. We also did a craft: decorating t-shirts with markers. The kids had a blast! The markers had many other uses, such as for painting nails and applying "marker lipstick". We also were able to feed the kids lunch. It was precious to watch them as they said a simple prayer of gratitude in unison.

Because there were no translators assigned for the team today, I ended up translating (or at least giving good effort). Well at least the kids seemed to understand me... Two of the 2006 team members came again this year, Dwayne and Ramona (Tom' s sister), so it was good to see some familiar faces. I also had a great time getting to know Angie and Elizabeth, 2 of H4KI's staff, as well as Patrick, a PT/retired professor from NAU, and Sandra, a retired nurse from Florida. To learn more about H4KI's work in Romania (as well as other countries), check out their website: http://www.hope4kidsinternational.org/

Happy AND Independent Eaters!

Coreen brought over lots of therapy equipment which was a HUGE blessing! She gave Florentina's foster mom a therapy ball and made some amazing thumb splints for Ionut, but the best equipment was the feeding supplies for Viorel and Cristina. Viorel is loving his new fork and plate guard and Cristina is a happy camper with her cute red weighted spoon and fork set! They are also enjoying their new mats, which help hold their bowls and plates steady on the table. Thanks Coreen for helping these children to have the opportunity to become independent eaters! oh, and Viorel also says "multumesc" (thank you) for the universal cuff, he loves being able to scribble masterpieces!

Blessed

For the past week I have been blessed with a visit from 2 wonderful women from Virginia: My dear friend, Coreen and her colleague, Wendy. Coreen is a physical therapy assistant (PTA) and Wendy is a special ed teacher. Coreen has wanted to come to Romania with me since my first trip in 1999, so we were excited to finally have this come to fruition! After arriving on Friday afternoon, we dropped off their luggage and headed immediately into the city (despite the rain and lightning). Saturday we spent the day working on the 9th floor of the children's hospital, loving on the children. Wendy fell in love with Anca immediately! Monday- Thursday, the gals joined me in Tinca where Coreen was able to provide great family training for Ionut, Florentina, Viorel and Claudiu. Meanwhile, Wendy was a great blessing with her willingness to play and interact with all of the children. The children enjoyed the special attention and the staff was thankful for the extra help she provided. We were all blessed with amazing Romanian hospitality, so much that I only cooked 2 dinners! Today the gals are at the hospital while I am here at the apartment getting caught up before we leave tomorrow. We will be leaving at 6:00, heading over to Budapest as the gals fly out from there on Sunday morning. From Budapest, I will then be heading to Prague for a week, yea! Since I won't have any email access while I am gone, I won't be blogging again until the 11th of August. Once I am back in Romania, I will write a special blog about my last working day in Tinca as right now emotions are just too high...I am sure this is understandable. It is so hard to believe I only have 3 1/2 more weeks before I will be home!

Clowning Around in Tinca...

This past Thursday, Randy, Lacie, Amanda, and Amanda (yes, 2 Amandas) joined me in Tinca to help celebrate Viorel's 4th birthday. Initially, the kids were a bit hesitant of my "clown friends", but after just a short while they were all having a blast! Randy is an amazing balloon artist and truly made each and every child feel very special. It was also a huge blessing to see the girls loving on the children. I warned Randy that soon his interns would all be defecting to my "team" (especially the Amanda who is studying to be an occupational therapist)! Viorel also had another special visitor, Ciprian. Cipri travelled all the way from Satu Mare, about 5 hours away, just to be here for the party. And he also bought Viorel his most treasured birthday present, a remote control car!

Rehab Center and Hospital Visits

Yesterday I decided to take a day off from Tinca as I needed to touch base with Dora at the rehab center (former orphanage). It was so great to see the changes in many of the children. Illona is now walking with only a little hand-held support and Maria is practically running! In addition to the children in the small group homes, Dora also sees children from families. Recently she started working with one of the little boys I know with autism. Dominik has some challenging behaviors, so I spent the session showing her and Cristi (the psychologist) how I have worked with him successfully in the past. I also got to work with Kincso, a little girl whom I have known for the past 3 years. She has changed so much since I saw her last year and is now speaking in both Romanian and Hungarian. She loves her new wheelchair and is trying to learn to wheel it all by herself!

Kincso is all smiles!

Due to some of the children being gone for summer vacations, Dora and I had a 2 hour break. This ended up being a great blessing as it allowed us enough time to go to the Children's Hospital for me to check in on the children and the workers. As always, Mia, Dorina and Rodica welcomed me with open arms. There are now 12 children on the "genetic unit". I primarily worked with Rodica on positioning Soledad and then fed Levente . Exciting news: Levente is now eating with a spoon! No more bottles, yea!

Cluj and Sacuieu

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong and do not fear! Behold, your God will come with a vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you." (Isaiah 35: 3-4, NKJV)

Visiting the Maury's

Jerusha, John, Charity and Ethan Maury are missionaries now serving in Cluj. They continue to also work alongside the Hagiu family, serving the gypsy villages of Calatele and Sacuieu.

Last Friday I travelled to Cluj-Napoca, a city about 3 hours from Oradea, to finally meet up with the Maury family. John and Charity are currently living in Faget, a village about 15 minutes from Cluj, and had graciously invited me to come and stay with them. It was great catching up with them and getting to play with Ethan and Jerusha again! I was able to work with Jerusha on some exercises to help her back and shoulders. She had a blast playing around with the theraband and they both loved playing "zoom ball".

When I arrived, I learned that a team from Calvary Chapel Treasure Valley (the Maury's home/sending church) was out in the villages doing VBS and John surprised me with the news that we were going out to Sacuieu on Sunday afternoon as they were holding their first baptisms since beginning their work out there 3 1/2 years ago! How amazing is God's perfect timing that this would be the weekend that I would be in Cluj! The whole weekend we spent in prayer as many of the team members, along with Nicu and Silvana Hagiu (the Romanian missionaries ministering out in the villages), were experiencing physical attacks, dreams and visions. Many of the people who had come forward for baptism were backing out due to fear and true persecution. Family members were placing curses on those desiring to follow Christ in baptism and one woman was badly beaten by her husband. By Saturday, Charity and Ethan were quite ill and discouragement was setting in. But then God gave me the above verse, helping us to redirect our attention to our God who has overcome this world and delivered us from fear! On Sunday, I was able to attend Calvary Chapel Cluj (Golgota), the new church plant that John is heading up. Unforunately, Charity and the kids were too sick and had to stay home. However, Ciprian (my therapy friend who recently moved to Cluj) joined me for church. Please continue to pray for him as I really see that he is seeking to understand truth. After church, John and I drove to Sancraiu to meet up with the Hagiu's and the team from CC Treasure Valley. It was such a joy to finally meet Silvana, Nicu's wife. She wanted me to let everyone know that the medication we sent over in the winter was a huge blessing for both villages. Hopefully we can do another medication drive soon.

Baptisms in Sacuieu

Around 3:00 we all headed over the mountain to the village of Sacuieu. John and Nicu first drove to Caletele to pick up Feri, a young man who desired to be baptised. We were eagerly greeted by hugs from all the children. Immediately my eyes were directed to Zorca, one of the little girls who captured my heart last year. When she saw me, her eyes became so wide and a huge smile followed. Oh how our hearts leaped, realizing we had not forgotten one another! Needless to say, she stayed by my side the entire evening. Even more exciting was the news that her mom, Marioara, was one of the women who had decided to be baptised! Church services were held with us all sitting on the hill. It was so beautiful to hear my gypsy sisters and brothers singing out to the Lord! After Nicu and Darryl (the pastor from CC Treasure Valley) preached, John and Nicu made their way down to the little river for the baptisms. We had prayed for at least 2-3 people to stand strong and not back out of their commitments. But God did a mighty work and 10 people were baptised! It was a truly overwhelming day. Afterwards, we had a barbecue and enjoyed sweet, sweet fellowship. Silvana and I went and visited several homes, and then joined some of the team members in one home to pray over a little girl, Claudia. Claudia looks like she has cerebral palsy and really needs some help. God willing, I will return next week to do some parent training and also to pass out some of the goody bags that my dear friend Jill and her Backyard Bible Club kids made.

Ciprian's Kids

Ciprian is now working in a special needs gradinita (kind of like a kindergarten, but for ages 3-8) in Cluj and had invited me to come help him for a few days. Most of the children have significant impairments, and only a few are able to walk. But Cipri has such an amazing love for these kids! I was excited to find a platform swing and ball bath, and even more excited to get to show Cipri how to use these great therapeutic tools. He ended up having so much fun and could see how much the children were enjoying their therapy time! After working all day on Monday, Cipri took me on a 5 1/2 hour walking tour of Cluj. What a treat to see all the hidden treasures of this beautiful city with an insider's perspective and knowledge. We even visited 2 churches, one from the 14th century, and another from the 15th century. I have added a slideshow on the sidebar, so you can easily check out my Picassa album by simply double clicking on slideshow.

Basking in the Sunflowers

One of my favorite reasons to be in Romania in the month of July is because of the vibrant sunflower fields that I get to drive by every day on my way to Tinca. However, because I am riding on a bus, I have never had the opportunity to take photos. Last week my good friends, Randy and Debbie Bullock, arrived back in Oradea. One of their interns (Amanda from Florida) is an aspiring OT student, so this past Tuesday she joined me for a day in Tinca. Riding out to Tinca with Randy, I mentioned that I had wanted to take pictures of the sunflowers. So on Wednesday morning, Randy, Debbie, their 3 interns (Amanda, Lacie and Amanda), 2 of their Romanian workers & I piled into their van and drove out to some of the fields on the border of Oradea so I could finally take these pictures. Unfortunately, the sun was shining down with some major intensity so I am squinting in all of the photos!

Jenny, my new roommate (I moved into her apt when we returned from Bucharest) also came out to Tinca on Tuesday to help me with Viorel. Sadly, the foundation still has not found a suitable kinetotherapist (PT) since Ciprian resigned in May. So for the past 3 weeks I have been doing all the therapy(ugh..)! Jenny was able to train the house parents and the house workers on some stretching exercises for Viorel's legs. Thankfully, the staff was very receptive, especially since Jenny is creating a program for them to follow. This will help me have more time to focus on increasing his hand use and for making adaptations for his self-help skills (I know more OT lingo!). Oh, and Amanda enjoyed Tinca so much that she is joining me again next Wednesday!

Tomorrow I am heading to Cluj where I will be staying with the Maury family (yea!). I am excited to see them again and also to be able to attend services at Calvary Chapel Cluj! On Monday and Tuesday I will be working with Ciprian, the former kinetotherapist in Tinca, before heading back to Oradea Tuesday evening. Hope you all have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Adorable Abel

After sharing with you all the story of Abel and "staying out in the sun too long", I decided I should post a picture of this adorable 5 year old! I have known Abel since he was just a little baby as he was in CPI (the orphanage) when I was still living here full-time. Abel was our only child on the baby unit who was completely normal, but yet he ended up in CPI just because he was a gypsy and no foster home was found. So it was much to my delight when I was told that Romanian Relief had rescued him! Abel now attends gradinita (like our preschool/kindergarten) along with Miha and Iosif's natural daughter, Iasmina Bianca. Although he is making physical and cognitive progress by leaps and bounds, this precious little boy so needs our prayers for emotional healing. He has lots of attachment issues which make dealing with his behavior quite challenging. Please pray for Alina, our psychologist, to have wisdom in working with him and also for the other staff to have increased patience. Above all, pray that he will experience the supernatural love that only our Saviour can provide. Praise God that Abel truly is one of Abba's Kids!

FIELD TRIPS!!!!!

Since returning from Bucuresti, I have been spending more time with the 5 children in the "lower house" in Tinca. Most of the children have multiple learning disabilities, and the oldest child has autism. Despite the great care they now receive, it is important to remember that they were all raised in orphanages until just a few years ago. With this said, many behavioral and emotional challenges persist. Miha and Iosif (the houseparents) have been thankful for the extra help, especially during our recent excursions...

Excursion #1: To the Dentist!
Last week we came to the "big city" of Oradea where a very kind dentist examined all of the children's teeth. Although I was appreciative of her help with the kids, I couldn't muster the courage to be examined (no use of gloves, no real sterilization) despite the fact that I broke a tooth in Bucuresti. Afterwards, we took the children to the play area in the mall and rewarded them with pizza!


The joys of taking 7 children (the 5, plus the 2 natural
children of the house parents) to the dentist! Actually
it was much easier than I had expected. They all stayed
together in the little room, eagerly watching each other
get examined, waiting their turn, and asking the dentist
funny questions!

Excursion #2: Timisoara!
The children, along with Miha, Iosif and Bunica (Miha's mom) are spending this week in Timisoara, a beautiful city about 2 1/2 hours from Oradea. Alina (the psychologist) and I took the train down on Monday and spent 2 days helping out. The children were so excited to see us!


Group picture in Piata Unirii, in the old city center
of Timisoara. It is a beautiful square with lots of places
to sit and just enjoy the evening.


Alina and me with Darius, Nico, Pami and Doina
(the oldest daughter of Miha and Iosif). Doina is so
great with the other children and truly considers them
her family!

We had such a great time taking them to the city center, the heroes cemetery (Timisoara is where the revolution began in 1989 and thus many young people from there were killed), and to some of the parks. We had a few interesting moments at the parks. One evening, a boy who was also playing at the park went up to our kids and meanly accused them of being gypsies. Abel, our youngest child, quickly stated, "no, we just stay out in the sun too much". How cute!
Unfortunately, one of the children had an extremely difficult time while we were sitting in another park and began screaming and trying to injure herself. Upon seeing this, a group of elderly men began yelling at us, insisting that we leave immediately as we were disturbing their game of chess. It was such a sad moment for me, realizing just how unaccepted these children really are....


Nico and Pami, staying cool by taking a dip in a fountain


Behind us is the National Theatre, a place of great
importance during the Revolution in 1989

Introducing...Casandra Vollbrecht

Casandra Avariel Wood-Vollbrecht

After an 11 1/2 hr train ride, I arrived back in Oradea last night at about 12:30 am and immediately turned on my computer to catch up on 2 weeks of emails and then called my mom. While talking to my mom, I realized my good friend, Halie had sent me an email a few days before with the most WONDERFUL news that I must share! But first let me tell you about Halie. Halie is a remarkable young woman whom I have had the honor to serve alongside and call friend since we met at CP1 (the orphanage in Oradea) in 2003. Halie moved to Romania to care for a little baby girl who had been moved from the Children's Hospital to the orphanage. The first time I saw Halie and Casandra together, I knew that Halie was indeed chosen by God to be Casi's mom. Halie and I spent EVERY day together, loving on and caring for Casi and her playmate Milagros (now Denisa). On the rare occasions when one of us couldn't be at the orphanage, the other always looked after both of our girls. When it was time for me to move back to the U.S. and Mila was still waiting to be placed in a foster home, Halie's continued presence gave me the peace that Jesus would still provide for Mila. In fact, Halie, Casi, and my friend Dora all threw Mila her 1st birthday party right before she was placed in her foster home.

Throughout her 5 long and challenging years here in Oradea, Halie has been shown AMAZING favor thanks to our AMAZING Father! She was given permission to foster Casi early on and has always had a great relationship with Child Protection. But the last few months have been stretching. You see, Halie is getting married in August (in California) and needed to have Casi's adoption finalized first. Many other young foreign women, although with legal Romanian residency, have had their adoption appeals rejected by the courts and Halie had not even been given a court date when I left for Bucuresti 2 weeks ago. But Halie knows she serves a faithful God who's timing is perfect and was not at all stressed. She truly exudes peace.

So last Monday she got a call from her social worker informing her that she had a court hearing on Wednesday, just 2 days later. This is so unusual as you are typically given a court date for months later. So Halie goes to court on Wednesday and with absolutely NO resistance from the judges, the adoption is immediately granted and Halie is given legal custody of Casi! PRAISE GOD!

Please keep Halie, Casandra and Eric (Halie's fiance) in your prayers as they prepare to head home to the U.S. in July, for their upcoming wedding, and also for their plans to return to the missions field here in Romania.

Bucuresti!

Team Bucuresti: Kristi (MT), Jenny (PT) and me (OT)

Today marks my 12th day here in Bucuresti, the capital city of Romania. We (Jenny, Kristi and I) have been traveling each day to a local children's center/orphanage where we have been working with children from the orphanage, as well as with some of the children from the community. Most of the children are on the autism spectrum, so Kristi and I are feeling right at home! The center has some amazing equipment (including suspended equipment/swings, rocker boards and therapy balls) so I have been in therapy heaven!!!!

Making a Roxana sandwich, or once Kristi composes the words,

a "sarmale" (the traditional Romanian stuffed cabbage roll)

Catalina swinging!

The equipment was primarily donated from Inimi Deschise/Children to Love (CTL), the ministry that is hosting us. Lili, one of the CTL workers, has also spent time in California and was trained in using the Picture Exchange Communication system (or PECS for all of my therapist friends reading this!), so the the center has a PECS program, which includes time in the "sensory stimulation room" and the "occupational therapy gym". However, the staff didn't know how to use the therapy equipment, which is why we we were invited to come. Lili has been working with children at this orphanage for about 12 years and has an incredible heart. Her love for the children is contagious!

Lili and her new swing. Jenny and I picked up this swing at the Ikea store in Bucuresti. The kids are loving it!

Last week I was asked to do a 3 day training course on sensory integration (SI) theory, assessment and intervention, and yesterday I did another training on how to manage aggressive behaviors. All of the trainings went exceptionally well and the staff have all been so attentive. We have also been able to come along side the staff during treatment sessions, helping them to implement the new strategies. It has been such a treat to do true SI work again, plus we have seen some amazing results with a few of the children in just the past week and a half! This has been so encouraging not only to us, but also to the staff. Oh so many stories I want to share...perhaps in another blog. Today we have to say goodbye to all of our new friends (both staff and children), so it will be a bittersweet day. Please pray that the workers will have seen beyond our tangible help and will have experienced glimpses of our glorious Savior, and that through those glimpses their hearts would be changed.

Say Cheese: Group picture with the staff