Moldova Mission Trip - Day 4 (Dan)

Ahh, Day 2 at the Ivancea orphanage. believe it or not, as of this morning we only had 42 beds left to do here. The plan was to do part today and part tomorrow, with us having crafts in the afternoon today and the "BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY" tomorrow. As we have be told over and over: BE FLEXIBLE.

When we arrived at the orphanage this morning the kids had already moved beds out of 3 rooms (2 rooms of girls and 1 boys room); the kids were all in class this morning. Once we had a game plan the move was on. Using our team, the church volunteers and the translators we started hauling beds to the rooms. As the saying goes, the jig was up!!! Stuart's plan of an organized move was shot because all of a sudden here they came, girls seemed to be coming out of the wood work; one minute we were talking on the walkie-talkies about what else needed to be sent up for the first room, next minute stuff was appearing out of no where.

The pleasure that I got watching (yes, I said watching) these kids get new beds was the greatest. OK, before I go any farther, everyone who thought that I would end up getting out of work and that I would end up supervising was RIGHT; it was not my choice and ends up juggling 2 & 3 rooms, coordinating beds, linens and pillows is harder than it sounds. Yesterday I had the privilege of helping a couple of rooms be completed from start to finish and it was great but the need was for someone to coordinate the rooms while Stuart coordinated the people and beds being sent upstairs. OK, there it is, I said it.

Even with the kids in class, we were able to to finish all 42 beds by 12:30.. Off to lunch at the pizza place that's 30 minutes away. The food was good but it takes FOREVER to get your food.

By the time we got back to the orphanage we were 20 minutes latter than planned and had to hurry to set up for the big CRAFTS project. When we finally made it to the cafeteria the kids were already lined up and waiting. While everyone was setting up, I was in charge of keeping them back. Dan the doorman here and this is what I saw:

Doesn't look like many until they all show up and the crowd suddenly looks like this:

Yes, we got slammed again. It seems that a craft time where everyone can participate together is a rare thing here and they ALL SHOWED UP (thank goodness for shopping at Metro last night). Needless to say, we were better prepared and the kids had fun. They left with multiple craft projects that they completed plus most of them left with craft supplies in their pockets.

Next was the gathering of the crowd in the auditorium for our Bible story. Arlene did a great job (again) explaining faith in Christ Jesus by using the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter stepping out of the boat and walking to him and then his faith started to waiver. Arlene used kids as disciples, Jon as Peter, Stuart as Jesus, Arlene as the Narrator and Eugene as the Translator. We had wind and rain, the kids loved it.

The day ended at the orphanage with the kids all wanting their pictures taken with us. Back to the team house for dinner and some relaxation (not). Yes to the dinner but no to the relaxation. With tomorrow's Birthday Party for 205 kids just around the corner, we had to start putting together their gift bags:

OK, that's the way our day went, time for me to get some rest.. Check back tomorrow to see what our next great adventure is.

Dan

Keep up with my thoughts each day from Moldova at http://mcbridedan.blogspot.com.