finally, we are here!

Me and my new friend Waswa.

i kept asking myself yesterday “where did this day begin and has it ended yet?” what a long trip to get here to kampala! FINALLY we started to see land get closer and closer and felt the plane start to descend. Thank you Lord! We went to baggage claim. All of our team’s luggage made it except for the 4 from Indiana. They have such a great attitude. We have all offered different items but they followed advice and at least had an extra outfit in their carry on bag. We gathered our stuff and got on the bus and headed to this “bed and breakfast” type place that is our home for the week. The people here are extraordinarily nice. We settled in and had lunch then headed to blessed hope orphanage. We had no idea what to expect. The bus ride is an hour and 10 minutes one way…on bumpy and windy roads and our driver is not scared of anything. he is the master of his universe on that road. I was thinking much like last night “get me to the orphanage” and sooner than later please. We finally see a sign for Blessed Hope Champions Academy and turn off the main road. This bumpy, bumpy road was lined with banana trees. I kept thinking where are the kids? All I see are these trees…and a rooster here and there. One of the team members said “I hear music” but it was really the sounds of 202 very happy little Ugandan children. We finally pull up to where they can see us and let me tell you, after we turn the corner to head into that sweet place they start running and I mean running towards the bus. Happy little faces just so excited and we felt already loved unconditionally. They were just waiting for us to get off the bus and they all stuck their little hands out just wanting to touch us. We were led to their shelter where they worship. We were then treated to their singing. Videos will follow. They sang to us accompanied by drums and danced and worshipped. As one team member said, “we had church”. We then took a tour of the campus…saw their minimal classrooms and their dirty mats on the floor. When the director announced we were there to make beds for them they all cheered. What reward! I connected with several little ones in particular (justin, maria, esther and barbara) as the Emily (jackie and shamil) and Abigail (robert, nora, vivian)! This is such a treat and an honor to experience this with them! I know the rest of my girls would be so moved as well. i have a little piece of all of you here with me. Thank you for praying for us!

One of the best days of my life so far...

Today we landed in Entebbe, Uganda around 9 am. It was nice to know that tonight I get to sleep lying down! Unfortunately, our team members from Indiana did not have any of their luggage arrive in Uganda.  Prayers that their luggage arrives tomorrow would be greatly appreciated! The airport is an hour away from our city, so when it does arrive they will have to backtrack a little.

After getting that situation taken care of, we boarded a bus for the Adoni house which is where we are staying. It is incredible…obviously not the amenities of the United States, but absolutely beautiful and more than I could have ever expected.

We packed up and headed to the orphanage. It is about an hour’s drive to Blessed Hope Academy. The hour’s drive was overwhelming as we passed both breathtaking landscape and heartbreaking poverty. As we pulled on the road leading to the orphanage (mind you that we’re still a quarter of a mile away) we begin to hear this loud noise. First mistaking it for music, we soon realized that it was the kids screaming. As the bus broke into the clearing of the orphanage, over 200 children’s faces were filled with honest joy as they ran screaming towards the bus. Overwhelmed, tears filled all of our eyes. These children did not know us…had never laid eyes on us…but they believed we brought them hope and were beside themselves with excitement.

The minute you got off the bus, children were attached to you…holding your hand, your leg, hugging you, and just looking up into your eyes grinning from ear to ear. We made our way over to their assembly area. The children could not stop smiling…they were honestly bursting with happiness. The teachers were all introduced…we were all introduced and then Stuart began to explain to the children why we were here. Josephine begin interpreting and telling the students that we were providing them with mattresses, sheets, comforters, and pillows…Josephine had to stop talking because the children were cheering so loudly. Again with tears in my eyes, it made me stop in amazement that these children found such happiness in things we find so every day.

We had the opportunity to get a tour of the orphanage. It was overwhelming to see the rooms with mattresses on the floor, knowing that multiple kids share each thing mattress. The classrooms are bare with thatched roofs, no walls, and dirt floors. The students played soccer with a trash bag/rubber band soccer ball and shared everything they had. They were so proud of their home and so happy to spend time with each other and their new friends (us!).
It’s only Day One, and I don’t even know how to explain the emotions I have felt in such few hours. I am so thankful I have so much more time left. The children are an exact replica of the child like love God wants us to have. The children of the orphanage performed several of their own worship songs, and you could feel God’s presence. I am so thankful for Pastor Joel and the vision he had for this group. The children have already been a blessing and taught me many things today.

 I ask for prayers for our team member’s luggage; I can’t imagine how difficult it is to be in Africa with nothing of your own. Secondly, that we will all have energy and high spirits tomorrow…traveling for 48 hours truly wore us out. Finally, that we can fulfill as many of these children’s hopes and wishes as possible. Thanks for prayers in advance and hope to write again soon!!

Worth the wait

After leaving our homes in Tennessee and Indiana on Friday, close calls with connections and a 10 hour layover in London, our team has arrived in Uganda!

We didn't waste any time in getting settled in and having lunch so we could go to Blessed Hope to meet the children.

I know our team will blog great stories later today, and hopefully pictures! I'm posting live pictures to my facebook and twitter, so add me if you'd like to see those.

Thank you all for your support and prayers which have made getting here possible. There are 202 VERY excited children, plus the 15 of us.

Sweetly,
Jen
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

He wanted me to...

I've waited until I've been home a couple of days, returned to work and "life as usual" to allow myself to fully reflect on my experience while in Moldova. I myself have been lost in a smile more than once remembering the antics of some of our team members and some of the situations we all found ourselves in. Big Serdj...I miss your assertive driving and have almost gone "Moldovan" with my driving a couple of times in the last few days....but today, Thursday....3 days after returning home the real purpose of why I went...why I think we all went came crashing in on me...I went because God wanted me to....not because He needed me to. I, like I'm sure all of our team members, have had my share of pats on the back for going to the "mission field". I really don't deserve that. I didn't do anything. I responded to God's urging to go and unbeknownst to me and maybe others that responded, that was all I was asked to do. God didn't "send" me to Moldova for all that I could do for Him. He asked me to go so that I could learn who He really is and how much He cares for me. You see, I can do nothing for orphans or people who are lost but God can do everything. God allowed me to come in contact with these children, these people of Moldova, not so I could change them but for the express purpose of changing me. I felt compassion for them and experienced true pain at the plight of some of these unfortunate souls I encountered. God intended that to show me how unfortunate I am without Him. I am no more capable of pleasing God on my own than some of these children were capable of feeding themselves.

God showed me how helpless I am without Him. He didn't need me to go to Moldova. He can take care of His own all by himself, through whatever means He chooses. He wanted me and the rest of the team to go for the purpose of conditioning our hearts to understand that we were all orphans, we were all handicapped, we were all discarded...until Jesus revealed Himself to us and we realized we belonged to Him. God doesn't need your talents, your gifts, your efforts....but He wants them...and He will use them for His great glory and He will teach you that total dependence on Him is the only thing you need to concern yourself with. Thank God he wanted me and these precious others to go and as a result He taught all of us how much He loves us.

I'll forget some of the details of this adventure over time but regardless I'll never be the same; and you can be sure I'll never forget that I went to Moldova because He wanted me to....May God Bless you and I pray you'll go where he wants you to.

Home, Bittersweet Home

I know y'all have been waiting with bated breath to find out, but no, we did not do the chicken dance in the airport, nor on the plane. Oh, wait. Jon and I did some modified version on the plane for our own amusement. We were very very tired.

Our exit from Moldova was less than smooth. The Moldovans decided to play hardball and we ended up paying for a few more checked bags than was really necessary since they told us we were limited to only one carryon. We suspect they just wanted to get as much money out of us as they could, since it was only 2 out of the 4 check-in ladies being so persnickity with the carry-ons, and so inconsistent.

After being frisked at the Moldovan airport, frequently questioned as to why I was flying into Buffalo when I was Canadian and having my bags searched at the gate in Frankfurt, I was happy and quite surprised to breeze through all the American customs. Especially to be told, "have a good trip back to Canada, eh?" by the American customs officer!

You'd think, after 24+ hours of travel, it would be easy to believe that I'm home again. It's not. Especially when I'm awake and up at 6am voluntarily. I find myself wondering how the weather is in Moldova today. What the kids are up to. How did their exams go? What are Marine, George, Duana, Valentina, Tatiana, John, and many others going to do at the end of this week when they graduate? What's Valentina making for dinner tonight? What are those dogs across the street going to do without Mike to wake them up as we drive by? Who is Big Serdg going to drive today? Did the kids finish their photo frames? Who's going to do the chicken dance with them now? And, how in the world do I decide which pictures to develop?

God has done great things in Moldova this week, and none of us will ever be the same. God has blessed us and challenged us - Canadian, American, Moldovan translators, kids, and all the people who worked to make this week what it was: Victor and Valentina opening up their home and cooking for us, Big Serdg, CJ, and Octavian driving for us, Lucia organizing,and many many of you who prayed for us, read the blog, and who we now get to see in person on this side of the world sharing our stories and pictures. The temptation is to think that it's over - way too many goodbyes have been said in the last few days. Tears are still flowing. Please continue to pray for us as we try to fit back into day to day life, holding onto the memories and the things God has taught us and ways he has worked into our hearts. Please be patient with us as we share the same stories over and over again, show you thousands of pictures, and call out "buna!" (complete with hand gesture - ol) or "laptops!" at random moments. I'm so thankful for technology so we could share our trip on the blog through stories and pictures and videos, and now keep in touch with each other and look through each others' pictures. I honestly had no idea I'd make such good friends in such a short time! Love to all from Canada, eh?

Waiting just for you...to hug you dearly!

Hello everyone...this is Lannette! Sadly, our awesome Sweet Sleep journey has drawn to an end. I think that I can speak for everyone when I say that we are having so many mixed feelings this evening. It is such a bittersweet feeling knowing that we are leaving in just a few short hours. We are leaving these sweet kidos, our awesome translators, our wonderful host family, and a host of new friends. However; it is with great anticipation and happiness that we await seeing all of our precious family and friends back at home.

Jon asked us to blog tonight if we had any special stories to share. Well...I HAVE to share the story of Artur.



Artur is a resident of the orphanage at Ivancea. He is 16 years old and we ALL fell in love with him as soon as we met him. He especially took a special interest in my mom Debra. They exchanged smiles when we first arrived at the orphanage and before we all knew it, Artur was presenting my mom with freshly picked flowers from the orphanage flower beds. He had noticed my mom admiring them earlier in the day and was waiting...flowers in hand...when our van pulled into the gates of the orphanage after our lunch break. My mom sweetly returned the gesture with an extra handful of Skittles later in the day. It was then that he "officially" adopted her!

As the days passed, my mom began to anticipate saying good-bye. Luckily, she was able to steal away some moments with Artur and our translator Sergiu...moments to talk with Artur about his life...and his relationship with Jesus.




On the last day at Ivancea, Artur approached my mom and secretly slipped her a hand-written letter. He motioned for her to put the folded piece of tattered notebook paper in her pocket. She did...and as soon as she had a spare moment with a translator, she found out what he had written for her.

The translated letter said...

From Arthur

I received Jesus Christ in my heart. I asked him to be my shelter in my life. When I was 12 years old, my mom died and my father left me and my sister. We thought a lot about what to do and we finally understood that we need to go to the church, to God's house. We need to pray to God and ask him how we can pass through these difficulties. Was a pleasure to meet you.

Poem

The roses never bud out more beautiful,
Like when two hearts,
Love each other.

A rose with the flower above,
I want for you to know that I am waiting for you.
I am waiting just for you,
To hug you dearly!

With love and respect,

Atrhur



Artur's life is about to change again. He has experienced so many difficulties throughout his life. In 5 short days he will be finished with his exams and he will officially graduate from the orphanage school. Unfortunately, graduation from the orphanage is not always a joyful event. Artur will be put out of the orphanage this Friday and will venture out into the world of adulthood...alone. He will have no place to live and no prospect of a job because a job in Moldova requires a government issued ID and a government issued ID requires proof of residency for at least one year...and get this...THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT ALLOW THE ORPHANS TO USE THE ORPHANAGE ADDRESS AS THEIR PROOF OF RESIDENCY. This makes the prospect of getting an "honest" job all but impossible. This is why most orphans choose a life of crime.

Oh...and one more thing...the orphanage director approached Jon as we were preparing to leave. He had noticed the special bond that my mom and Artur had developed over the week. He wanted everyone to know that Artur was a "good kid and a good student." He also let us know that Artur is not available for adoption in the U.S. because he is too old; HOWEVER, he might be available for someone to sponsor him on a student visa.

Please pray for Artur. Pray for him as he completes his exams this week. Pray for him as begins a new chapter in his life. Please pray that he keeps his focus on God and makes choices that are pleasing to Him. Pray for my mom. She is so emotional about her experiences this week and about what will happen to Artur. Pray that God will give mom and Artur a peace that passes all understanding.

Pray for our team as we pack up our remaining suitcases and prepare for the long journey home. Pray for our safety as we travel and please pray for all of us as we transition back to our normal lives. Thanks in again for all of your thoughts and prayers throughout this journey. We appreciate your sweet support!


Noapte Buna!
Lannette:)

Sweet songs

The sound of voices raised in songs of worship to our Lord - what sweet, sweet music. It doesn't matter if you don't understand the language, the bond we have in Christ unites us in a way the world doesn't understand. We went to a church service here in Chisinau this evening, and as I listened to everyone singing I had a glimpse of heaven, when all people of all nations join together in worship. What an amazing experience that will be! I was also struck by the realization that we, at 6pm, were in church at the same time as our churches back home! The pastor had his sermon translated so we could understand, and we were able to share a little of what we've been doing here in Moldova - building beds, loving on kids, the chicken dance... (well, we actually narrowly escaped the chicken dance at church. The thought crossed Dan's mind. The restaurant was another story. And there are already whisperings of the airport, the plane...)

Our time here has gone by so quickly, it seems. We've loved much and have been given so much love in return. It's hard to believe that we're leaving in the morning, but considering that most of us have spent the last hour trying to figure out how to defy the laws of physics and make 25 suitcases turn into 15, each under 50lbs, well let's just say that miracles are still happening here in Moldova!

I am not sure what exactly I want to say I just feel the need to say something! We have made so many dear friends this week. It just amazes me how quickly everyone bonded. Our translators are such wonderful people that I just want to scoop them all up and bring them home with us. The people on our team I believe have become good friends. I can only hope and pray that these new found friendships continue and do not fade when we get home. We have been so blessed to be allowed to visit this beautiful place. The best description I can think of for the outer towns would be to take a village from Old Mexico and drop it in the middle of Kauai Hawaii. Our devotional times have been amazing. Dan had us all sign a sheet before we ever left Whitehouse and the way God laid messages on each persons heart always fell in with what was going on at that time. People were not shy about letting their personalities out and we enjoyed many laughs together. I guess forcing people to get out of their boxes really helps! I also pray that we can all stay out of our boxes when we get home. There is so much talent to be shared. I just thank God for this opportunity. The children at Ivancea are so precious and I would ask for all your continued prayers for their futures and for their faith to stay strong. The special needs orphanage really made me realize how very blessed we are. The way that John, Carolyn, and Kelsey came together with us you would think that they are just misplaced Texans. I for one will miss them greatly! I, for one, will have to say that this trip was GREATABLE! Thank you, John, for letting me use your blog site. God Bless! Sheila

A Wonerful Worshipful Surprise!

Today was a most excellent day in Moldova. There are lots of people who want to blog great stories of the day, their week - their experiences on this great trip to minister to orphans in Moldova tonight. And I know I blogged yesterday and don't wanna hog the blog (that rhymed!). But I had a wonderful surprise tonight when we worshiped with some Moldovans at a church plant in downtown Chisinau and I wanted to share the blessing with all of you.

Our friend Dorel Iseanu, the former National Director of CERI Moldova, is now pastoring full-time in Calarsi and just launched a church plant downtown in a book store across from the Stefan cel Mare statue. When we arrived at worship tonight, I was so excited to see my friend John Koon! He is a missionary with Word Made Flesh in Moldova who used to intern for us while I was on staff at Rolling Hills Community Church. I realized late last night that I hadn't told him I was even in the country! When I saw him I was so shocked that we were in the same place! He ended up translating for our service and it was great to see him.

What really blessed me beyond words was when Ilie, Ed and Igor walked in. I was so surprised to find out that 3 of the boys who I had in Bible study every year at our camp for orphans at Chsinau's Internat #2 orphanage from 2004-2007 attend this church plant every week! There were lots of hugs, lots of smiles and lots of great conversation from these boys who are growing into great, Godly young men.

They were so excited to see me - to tell me about the apartment they share, the English they are learning and were rushing to sit by me. But the best part of the night was worshiping together. As the worship music started, Dorel was so great to sing part of the songs' verses in Romanian and some in English. Ed, Igor, Debra from our team and I would just weave in and out - the boys would sing Romanian; Debra and I would sing English. We'd sing Romanian; they'd sing English. We'd all sing Romanian; we'd all sing English. Hearing these friends belting out praise to God was so moving. These boys - whom I invested so much in during their jr. high years at camp - were now reading their Bibles, smiling from ear-to-ear, singing praise to God at the top of their lungs and Ed even reached over, put his arm on my shoulder, and prayed for me during the closing prayer. Hearing this young man that I've ministered to for so many years pray for me - even after I haven't seen him in 3 years - was such an unexpected blessing.

Throughout the service, at different times, I, too, was grinning from ear-to-ear, in tears, and almost asleep (these late nights are catching up with me!). But I'm so thankful for this unexpected evening as I wrap up this great week of ministry in Moldova.

Thank you so much for your prayers, your support of our work and for being a voice for these sweet orphaned children in Moldova. Praying for safe travel tomorrow and while I've absolutely loved the chance to be in Moldova - this country I love so much - again, I'm so looking forward to seeing my amazing wife and awesome son who have been praying for me all week and are anxiously awaiting my return. :)

Blessings --

jon

More Great Photos from our Week of Ministry in Moldova

It's been an amazing week serving with these friends from Tennessee, Texas and Canada bringing the Hope and Love of Christ to orphaned and abandoned children in Ivancea, Moldova. Here are some photos I particularly enjoyed from our last couple of days here.

Kelsey and Katea at the end of a great week of VBS in Ivancea.

Me with my new friends about to graduate from the orphanage.
Praying for safety, protection and blessings for them tonight...

Me teaching my new friends a secret handshake: Cartof, Cartof, Fries. (Potato, Potato, Fries) Here we are mid-potato. :)

Our team and kiddos at Ivancea on our last day together.

Checking out the map at the Chisinau Zoo - making sure we don't miss any of the animals!
(or get lost!)

Our team at the Chisinau Zoo. We met the cast of Madagascar. Priceless. :)

Carolyn's gnome, and our team, spent a great evening at MallDOVA.
Bowling, shopping and fruit covered in chocolate from the chocolate fountain. YAY!