We had breakfast at 7 am this morning...pancakes, cereal, fruit, yogurt. We are not short of food here at Sasha and Lucia's house. I can assure you of that! We headed out to the orphanage to continue working on our 180 beds. We finished assembling most of the beds and began carrying mattresses and mattress covers over to the dorms. As we were carrying the new bed parts inside, two orphanage employees were carrying the old beds out. That was so neat to see. I can only imagine the look on these children's faces when they walk into their rooms in September and see these beautiful new beds. The new design even has a drawer to go underneath. That may not seem like that big of a deal, but to kids who have no space of their own...it can mean a lot. No more banana boxes!!
It rained for the first time since Team 2 has been here. That has been such a blessing because a lot of our work has been outside. We wrapped up at 4 pm today, and Bill gave the boys a Philippians 4:13 talk. It was really great - I've never seen the boys pay that close of attention to anyone. I pray those seeds are watered. We left Internat and headed to Strasheni to another orphanage for smaller children (18 mo - 11 years). We took beanie babies, candy, and clothes. We just sat and hung out with the kids for about an hour. It's always nice to stop and take time to spend with these kids. Again, they are so innocent and precious. When we arrived, there was a little boy sitting by himself - Tudu - obviously alone in the world. We tried to get him to open up to no avail. But then Jen gave him her camera, and his whole world changed. It's so neat to see how these kids light up when they see their pictures. I wonder why that is? Is it using a fun camera? Is it getting to see their own face? I can't help but think that when they look at themselves, they're getting a glimpse of God. I'm so glad God created smiles - they're one of my favorite things in life.
We got home and sat down to dinner. After a few minutes, we were delighted to find that Dima, Artur, and Ivon had shown up (three of our bed builders who have graduated from the orphanage). At first they wouldn't come in, but after some encouragement (friendly force), they joined us. It was fun to sit around a table like a big, happy family with these great guys. They taught us all how to make roses out of our napkins. I think the men in the group will benefit more from that. =)
As life gets closer and closer to winding down here in Moldova, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I have so many thoughts and so many emotions...I don't even know where to begin. Each day brings different experiences and new thoughts. I treasure each one. When I don't have the answer, I just fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith. He is bigger than any challenge, any auestion, and any fear. (Hebrews 12:2)
Love to all...keep praying!
~E
No comments:
Post a Comment