As my heart turns toward home....

It is difficult to imagine that Elizabeth, Sarah and myself head back to Romania tomorrow.  It has been a very stressful month in many ways but oh so much was accomplished.

We did see my daughter Kathleen - a very painful experience/s.  5 of the 7 days in CA were spent on getting documents cleared up, both for the girls and Kathleen.  The Lord was with us every step of the way.  When I finally got Kathleen enough documentation to appear before the Romanian Consulate their office decided to close for 2 days (I won't EVEN go in to that right now but it was so...so...so ROMANIAN!)  In the consulate office I had a form shoved in to my hands as we were ushered out.  That night I took it all to the Lord - why was I allowed to get all the supporting documentation done only to be turned away?  I finally dropped off to sleep to awaken with a God thought - "read the form!"  The form told me the name of a special stamp that the police had referred to in Arad and how to get it.  I was a little confused as it would take another trip to Los Angeles and getting Kathleen to do another road trip with me was a real challenge.  A pastor friend in CA got on the Internet and put the name of the stamp in a search engine and VOILE! There were service agencies who, for a hefty fee of course, take a notarized statement to the Dept. of State official in the capitol and get this stamp - after that they would Fed Ex the document to me.  I have that document!  I have Social Security Cards for Elizabeth and Sarah, I got Kathleen's birth certificate and applied for her picture ID.  God is good.  As we prepare to leave it is very emotional for me as I leave my daughter behind in a very bad state...HOWEVER God has promised me He would care for her, it seems like she just won't be a part of our lives.

We went to Las Vegas and the girls met their Aunt, Uncle and cousin - the Keller family.  It was a special reunion for me and such a blessing for the girls.  Their cousin Lindsay is getting married and we were able to see her in her gown and go with the family to their dance lessons for the reception.  We all wish we could be there for the wedding.

I drove from CA to Vegas and then on to Phoenix.  My grandson Benjamin is being adopted there by a friend and her husband. Benjamin is a special needs child and has come so far since being with Ruth and Doug!  I am so blessed that he is so loved.  The girls were sort of angry with me for many years that I did not go to the States and gather up their brothers.  Michael, Nathaniel and Kaleb were adopted in closed adoptions and the girls now realize that we would not have been able to care for Benjamin and provide him with what he needs in Romania. They also got to see how wonderful an adoptive family can be.  The other 3 boys are well within the sight and hand of The Lord too.  Ruth and I took the 3 children to Grand Canyon, Bearazona and a Fred Flintstone village.  I took the girls shopping there also. Oh and yes - Elizabeth and Sarah got their ears pierced - that was a biggy for them. While in Phoenix I was able to visit with my former pastors, Richard and Carol Maiden - it was a special time.

Today the girls are at Universal in Orlando.  Elizabeth just called, they just got off the Spiderman Ride and "it was the coolest thing ever!" The first thing on their "to visit" list here in the Orlando area was Gator Land. They also visited Sea World.  The Ball family is hosting us and have graciously taken Elizabeth and Sarah to visit all these places.  I would not have been able to do it!  I enjoyed their pool, the beach and a movie!  The Balls will be moving to Romania after the first of the year. We are all excited.

OK - that is the last 30 days in a nutshell!  I hope to post a few pictures after getting home. My gosh, we have hundreds!  I know everyone has held down the fort for me in Romania and did an awesome job while I was gone.

Heading out early AM tomorrow

I think I may even get everything crossed off my to-do list before leaving the house at 3AM tomorrow.  I am so happy that Ghita's house got done.  The rest of the material to renovate the school is being purchased and it will be done by fall!  Also First Presbyterian Church in Vincennes IN has donated the funds to repair and renovate our little church in Vinga.  In early spring, when I realized what I had on the drawing board  to get done before fall, it seemed almost impossible - these 3 projects just mentioned were all huge...but we serve a huge God, a God who always has provision for the vision...a God of the impossible. Thank you Lord!

Please pray for us while we journey within the USA. We need real favor of God to either get the documents I need to get the girl's Romanian passports or get back in to the country without the document in hand. The girl's need Social Security numbers before their American passports can be renewed. As they are older, and after 9/11, they must appear in person at the SS office. Getting that done is first on my list.

I received a good report from my cardiologist. I need an EKG as well as some other tests before I can travel long distances. For the first time in almost a year my heart is back in rhythm! Thank you Lord! Rather than thinking about the atrial fibrillation I liked to think of it as my heart doing the happy dance.

Elizabeth and Sarah may visit with their mother this trip. They have not seen her in 9 years. This is an emotional time for us all. At this moment it is not looking like it will work out well but the Lord knows all of this and will take care of us and the situation. We would appreciate your prayers.  

VBS in Dud!

 While the guys were hard at work in the afternoons the ladies did a wonderful VBS in Dud. I think there were well over 70 children at the end. They did bible stories, crafts and played games.  Claudia, a social worker from Arad, joined us for the two days - what a team player she is! Mothers and neighbors also came to hear the program. We did it in front of Lena's house and she also came out to enjoy it it.

The VBS team

Thank you Tammy, Naomi, Lisa, Claudia and Adina!  The children wanted to know if we could come back next month.  All in all it was a tremendous effort over the two days for all involved.  This team also went to Mocrea on Tuesday and helped - they were up for anything. What a blessing.

Ghita's house BEFORE

 Most of this had to be burned. The plastic bags contain some left over food from the Widow's Mite food distributions - Ghita had no place to store it. Under the pile was a burlap and straw mattress. We went a day early and sprayed and spread powder to kill the fleas. We may have killed a few thousand but tens of thousands came to their funeral!  I pray that the team from Kansas did not take any home with them!

 This was Ghita's bed - an old mattress and box spring on top of a child size bed with foot and head boards. We burned all of this. The blankets don't look half bad in the picture, but the smell was not to be believed.

We had sympathy for Ghita. What must he have felt like to see so much of his stuff hauled out and burned? Adina gave him an shave and a haircut and I found a set of clean clothes. He has horrible headaches and I had some Ibuprofen with me and they really helped!

A scripture came to me while we were working - Isaiah 64:6 - all our righteousness are like filthy rags. I felt very humble in helping to serve Ghita. God id good!

Ghita's House AFTER

The pictures do not do justice to the finished product! The stove was rebuilt. That is sand around the stove - it is a dirt floor so we leveled it with sand first.  I am sure the fleas thought they were also getting a new home. There is a new bed, linoleum on the floor, a rug, curtains and a closet for food. Everything is freshly painted. Ghita was happy!  Vlad is going to undertake a project to visit Ghita twice a month.  he will help with his laundry and we are working on providing him water. There is no water at his house, the community well is over a block away and he would have difficulty hauling it.

Ioanci, my neighbor, did a great job as team boss, he knew how to do it all. A huge thank you to the team from Kansas!  Randy, Tammy, Keith, Lisa, Charlie and Naomi were awesome!

Coming up

A team is coming to visit Scott and Caroline Pouncey. Scott and Caroline have opened a girls' house in Arad. This work has been needed for so many years. This team will be at my church in Vinga Sunday to minister, and they will go to Mocrea with us on Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday we will be in Dud renovating the little room Ghita Conta lives in. We will need to drop in after Mocrea on Tuesday to kill fleas in preparation of working inside the next few days. This awesome group is also paying for the supplies. Ioanci, my neighbor, will be the boss of us - he is the only one that knows how to do this. I know in theory but that is not enough. We also will give Ghita a new bed and closet unit. While the guys (with me translating) are doing this Adina will lead the ladies in doing a VBS in front of Lena's house in Dud. I am so blessed that this will be getting done for Ghita as well as the children in the village being blessed! ****** (can't make paragraph breaks!) The girls and I will be leaving July 23 for California. I need to get them Social Security cards as they have duel citizenship. I am excited that we will be able to Visit Gena Turley. She has invited me to share at her woman's group, New Woman's Life, on August 1.  Sunday July 29 Rev. Craig Turley of The Blessing Center, has invited  me to share what the Lord is doing here in Romania.****** We will have a rental car so we will then journey to Las Vegas so Elizabeth and Sarah can meet their aunt and uncle, Christine and Dixon Keller. After Las Vegas it is on to Phoenix to visit Benjamin, my grandson that is being adopted by an old friend of mine and her husband. Benjamin had very little chance at a good future but with Ruth and Doug he has a great chance, he is much loved. The girls had met their brother on a previous trip so it is exciting for us all! We will go to Grand Canyon for two days, Elizabeth very much wants to go there. I have never been there either!****** After all of this we will fly to Orlando and visit the Ball family. They will be returning to Romania in 2013 to resume their missionary calling. Elizabeth and Sarah want to do it all in Orlando of course! ****** I hope to update the blog before the trip with pictures of the work this next week - HOWEVER with only days before leaving I know it may not happen. Please hold all the work as well as this trip up in prayer. We may meet up with my daughter Kathleen in California so also please pray for that meeting - that it goes well for the girls. 

Camp 2012

This year there were 55 at camp. The first week was Sanicolaul Mic kids as well as the Vinga youth group. This second week a group of 7 of our teens from both groups are at camp serving as junior counselors. The first week of camp did not go as smoothly as I would have liked (those of you who were praying for us know what an understatement this is!) This is not an easy work, but oh so worth while. It takes an entire year of squirreling away funds to get these children to camp but young lives are changing, children are getting to know Jesus...all in all it was awesome for so many. The Lord never promised the work would be easy but He did promise to never leave me nor forsake me!