An Amazing Mission Team

I didn't post last week because nothing out of the ordinary really happened. This past week though, oh man. It's been so great. A group of students studying in Austria spent their 10-day break here in Romania. I was so happy to have some Americans around for a while. Fr. Remus and I took them to Maramures to some of the wood churches and to the Happy Cemetery, to Satu Mare for a little sightseeing, and to the castle in Carei.

It was so good for the kids at the orphanage to have 8 more people to play with. Sometimes it's really hard for me to be able to meet the attention needs of each kid every time I am there and it was so great to have extra help. At the orphanage yesterday, the kids were asking me when my friends were coming back. They miss them already. 

 

I am not even exaggerating when I say that the Lord sent me the most amazing mission team of all time. I know this is a short update, but no words can really describe the week. It was super blessed and the Lord definitely worked throughout their time here.

Lauren, Emily, Jake, Jimmy, Megan, Nicole, Mary, and Anna: I just want to thank you all for taking your 10-day here in Romania. You could have traveled around Europe, but instead, you chose to give of your time to serve the people of Romania. It was so amazing to have you all here and I am so grateful to have been able to share my love of Romania with you guys. I can't wait to see you all in Austria for Thanksgiving!

The Greatest Experience

On Monday, I think I can say that I had the best experience of my 22-year-old life (and I've done some pretty awesome things). I received a VERY generous donation of things for the kids at the orphanage from the U.S. and after what seemed like waiting forever (I only waited a little over a week but it felt like forever) it arrived here and I took everything to the orphanage.

Saying that the kids flipped out when I got there is the understatement of the year. When I pulled this huge box out of my back seat (it was so big that it didn't fit in my trunk), they were so excited. Then, I opened it and they started screaming with excitement. They couldn't believe it. The looks on their faces...oh my gosh. They all wanted to look in the box. It was precious. I've never had so many people screaming my name and I got a hug from every single one of the kids. It was so good. 

After things calmed down, it was getting late, so I helped put some of the little kids to bed. After that, I went outside to hang out with some of the older kids. This was the first night I really connected with some of them. The reason we have struggled to connect with one another is because of the language barrier. They're too old to play with. Hahaha. But through my broken Romanian and their broken English, we made it work. It was the answer to a couple weeks of prayer. 

It was completely dark as I began to drive back to my apartment and what I saw was amazing. The moon was so bright that it lit up the mountains. It was absolutely beautiful. No pictures can do justice to the beauty of Romania. During my drive, I shut off the radio and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord. That's all I could do after the glorious day I had. 

Most of this week has been pretty chill. Nothing major going on in Romania at the moment. I actually got a little homesick for the first time since I got here. It comes from being the only American around. Next week, a group of Franciscan students studying in Austria are coming for a mission trip. I am pumped. Hahaha. I can't wait to have more Americans here for a while! It will be crazy and so great. I hope and pray that the students coming will fall in love with this beautiful country the way that I have.

Here are a couple pictures I've taken since being here just to show you the beauty of Romania:

When I went to the orphanage yesterday, I think I had the most fun since I've been here. The kids were so happy and they were crazy, just running around and wanting to be played with. The orphanage got a 1 week old puppy, so I got to hold her for a few minutes, which was great. She's the cutest little dog ever! There were some awesome pictures taken throughout the day:

I love my job so much :) I am constantly humbled by the love shown to me by the kids at the orphanage. It's in their love that I see the love of God.