April 3, 2008

Today was a very emotional day. Since our team was able to finish all the beds on wednesday, we were able to move up the birthday party that we had planned to have on friday. We got to the orphanage by 9am so that we can decorate the auditorium and pack the goody bags that had a banana and some cookies. By 10am, the first group of kids started walking in the door as we gave them a goody bag each. I have never seen such excitment coming from children at the sight of a banana and cookies. We never thought that the bananas would be such a challenge for the kids to eat. When I saw the kids eating the bananas with the peel, I realized that we had to jump in and peel them for them. Some of the kids acted as if this was the biggest treat of their life. They would stuff their mouths with the food, either because they were hungry or because they were afraid that it would be taken away from the by the other kids. At this point I realized that such a simple and logical task was a complete challenge for them and they were willing to choke on their food, just for the simple fear of loosing their food. At that moment reality hit me and tears started flowing down my face. I was able to compose myself and the birthday party ended up being a total success. We then moved on to the 120 kids who were bed ridden. We took them some yogurt to eat, since alot of them are not able to eat solids because they can choke. When we walked in to the first room, I didn't realize that we were suppose to feed them ourselves as they were unable to do so themselves. What a blessing and total honor it was for me to feed them. Every bite was greeted with a smile. I encountered this child that had massive tumors in the back of his head. He was the cutest child I have ver seen. Eventhough I knew he didn't understand anything that was going on, he was able to look at me and smile with every bite of yogurt that I gave to him. I could only stare at him and wonder if this was God telling me thank you thru him. I never thought in a million years that I would get attatched to children that I could never communicate with, but I am going to miss them all. I have met incredible children, even outside of the orphanage and I know that Moldova is going to be part of me for a long time. I leave behind good friends that will forever keep me connected to this country. God has worked thru us and his plan has taken place and we leave knowing that we have touched and reached out to more people that we could have ever hoped for.

Irene

We Finished!!!

We were able to finish bringing every bed that we had made to every room today! We are so thankful for the translators and helpers from a nearby church who worked incredibly hard with us to unload all the beds from the room and to replace them with brand new beds! Everything I have seen this week has been incredible. From interacting and communicating with the children to seeing the faces of the children receiving their new beds for the first time! We even had a few kids from the orphanage help us tear down old beds and put together new ones. Overall we had a very productive day and exciting one too!

Out With The Old And In With The New

Today was a great day. We started assembling beds this morning. We had more helpers from the local church today who turned out to be Moldovan Olympic bed assembling team. In the space of about three hours the assembled all 135 of our bed frames. They worked so fast that it sort of became a problem for us to find room in our workroom to store all the frames waiting to be move the the children's rooms.

While they were assembling bed frames at the speed of light, some of the team went to have some time with some of the kids and the rest of us started carrying the bed frames down to some rooms that had been cleared out for us. Speaking of which, when we arrived in the morning some of the older boys were clearing out three rooms for us to put new beds in. All I'll say about these boys is don't get in their way while they're working. They are quite enthusiastic. They cleared out three rooms totaling 42 beds. I was a little concerned because we had to replace all those beds, complete with linens by 1:00 so the children could have their naps. I wasn't sure we could get it all done by then. Silly me. We flew through those three rooms with an hour to spare. As we were finishing a few of the kids came in to see what we had done. They were so happy about their new beds. What a great sight. What a great reminder of why we do this.

We had a minor miscommunication after finishing those three rooms that caused us to waste our last hour before leaving for lunch, but we were so thrilled with the progress that had been made on assembling the bed frames that it didn't really get us down. The kids have rest time from 1:00 to 4:00, so we went to lunch. We got back around 3:30 and started quietly carrying bed parts up to the next room we were going to work in. Our plan was to stack the frames, mattresses, linens and pillows outside the room so that we could be ready to begin when the children woke at 4:00. But, the children were already awake when we got up there and the teacher said we could go ahead and start. The beds we carried out of that room were some of the worst I have ever seen in Moldova. I worked with Irene to carry out the mattresses while some others carried out the frames. Those mattresses were completely disgusting. Really, it's hard to even describe how bad they were. After clearing the room, we all set about filling it back up with nice, new beds. After we finished the room, they brought all the kids from that room back in to see the beds. Eighteen little boys came in the room and began squealing, laughing, and clapping with joy at the sight of the beds. They hugged us and shook our hands over and over again. I saw one boy who just kept motioning to where his old bed had been and his new bed was. I didn't understand the words he was saying, but the look on his face told me that he just simply couldn't believe that he would get to sleep in this new bed. The sight of it all literally brought tears to my eyes. Seeing things like that makes all the travel, bumpy roads, exhaustion, and stinkyness (ours and theirs) worth while. It reminds me what an awesome God we serve (emphasis on serve), and makes me thankful once again that He allows me to be a part of this.

Stuart

P.S. Thanks also to D'Ann, Cameron, and Evan for letting me do this as often as they do (and believe me, it's often). I know it's a sacrifice for all of you for me to be here. I love you all more than I can say.

Today was a very productive day. We were able to start assembling the beds and taking them to the children's rooms. We have an amazing group of people from a church that have volunteered to come help us since Sunday. They were able to put the beds together while the rest of the group took beds, sheets, comforters and pillows to the rooms. We worked so hard. By lunch time we were all glad to get a little break. On Tuesday, Hannah, Laura, Bing, Eli and I went on a search for a bathroom. We were told that there was a really clean one not far from where we were, but instead of taking a right, we took a left. This led us to a room full children that were being bathed and changed as we walked in to use their bathroom. We decided to go ahead and stay and play with them since we were already there, although we should have headed back to work. The photo above was taken by Hannah, our amazing photographer. This little boy was the sweetest boy ever. The minute that I squat down to say hi to him, he grabbed my hands and gave me a smile that melted my heart. I started to caress him from his forehead to his little nose and he actually, at one point started to fall asleep. This children yearn for affection and just love to say hi and hug you or hold your hand. Whatever fear or uncertainty that I may have had coming to Moldova, has long been thrown out the window. Today I had the chance to actually be present in a room as the children came in to see their new beds, and seeing this children smiling from ear to ear and hugging us and saying thank you brought tears to my eyes. I thought, God this is why you want me to be here. Just knowing that I am part of something that brings so much joy to these children makes all my aches and pains and tiredness feel like nothing and it makes me want to work even harder. Moldova will be a place that will always be part of my life.

04/01/08

Irene Rodriguez

beds beds beds!!

today we successfully assembled every single bed we had--and did it all before lunch!! we were really blessed to have a really hard working group from a nearby church helping us on the assembly line. it cut our work time in half and allowed us the opportunity to deliver over 60 beds to 4 different rooms!


the kids were so excited to have their new beds, they absolutely could not contain themselves. in my book, today was better than christmas. instead of this...

they now have this...

we were able to give a gift that blessed precious children. and on top of that, through giving beds, hugs, kisses and sweet lovin', i really feel like we gave them a glimpse of their value as human beings. what an amazing day! i could get used to this...
hannahelaine

photo update!

here we are in orhei wearing our kairos shirts for all to see...it was very cold in this moment and we were all yelling directions to the translators about how to use our cameras. humorous.



and this little buddy here was showing us his best calisthenics. he was definitely less physically inhibited than most of the other boys.



we are having such a great time here, these boys are so precious. thanks for all of you who are helping us help them!



hannahelaine

Building Beds, PE Class & Sweet Boys

Today was a really rewarding day. We got to the orphanage around 9am and unpacked supplies and started staining bed rails and cutting the foam mattresses to size. I rather enjoyed climbing on tall stacks of mattresses all day! We were fortunate to have a group from the local church come to help us. Miss Maria - an older lady from the church & the ring leader - was quite helpful. She worked just as hard as any of us!

Shortly after arriving, we had the joy of watching the sweetest boys, probably around 6-8 years old, in their PE class. They loved having an audience & really had a great time chasing balls around the gym and jumping over a jump rope. I think that class has to be the highlight of their day.

A few of us also stumbled into a room with about 10 little boys -- all too handicapped to walk. They were extremely sweet. Most of their faces really lit up when we talked to them & touched them. One little boy is confined to his bed all day - either on his back or on his stomach. When I went over to see him, as I talked to him and looked in his face, he smiled and made loud noises to show he was happy. He even tried to raise up from his bed. It was the smallest action, but had the biggest impact on my day.

Later in the day, we had the exhilirating experience of playing ball with some older boys --probably 18-25. If you know me, you know I stayed away from the flying volleyballs!

When I decided to come to Moldova, I didn't really know what it would LOOK like - landscapes, city, country, culture, etc. Moldova has rolling hills and quite a few vinyards. We pass them on the way to the orphanage. Other than that, it's a rather bleak place. Dirty, dusty, bumpy, old. It just looks forgotten. Each village on the way to the orphanage has its own well and an orthodox church. Homes are old, with peeling paint and patched roofs. The orphanage is also what you'd expect. Stale, stark, hard, dark. I hope these beds really provide some warmth. The kids are VERY excited about them. Even the little ones talk about it to us -- in Romanian, of course.

God has already begun work in me through this trip. There are challenges to face and fears to overcome. There is also a great reward - which will ultimately overcome any obstacle. I can't wait to meet more sweet boys tomorrow!

Love all of you at home. Continue to pray for our time in Orhei.
~Laura

Getting Started

Hello friends and family. Today was our first full day at the children's home. Our day started with the same sort of inconveniences we've grown accustomed to working in Moldova. When we arrived the director was away, no one knew when she would be back, and no one had the key to the room we would be using. Some people might get annoyed at such delays, but to those of us who have been here before, it was just another typical start to a typical day. We went to wait in the gymnasium and after a few minutes, a group of ten or so children came in for their gym time. We were told the children were between the ages of six and fourteen, but I can't believe any of those kids were fourteen. If they were, the were the smallest, most underdeveloped fourteen year olds I've ever seen. They followed their teacher around the room walking, skipping and running. It was great fun to watch the children playing and having fun.

Eventually, a key was located to our room and we set to work. We had six helpers today from a local church and they helped us with staining bed parts and cutting the foam mattresses, which had arrived from the factory ten centimeters too long. We weren't sure how to cut the a six inch thick foam block, but then someone, I'm not sure who, suggested using a wire. Hannah had an extra set of guitar strings she was willing to donate. The B string worked like a charm after we tied it to the handles of two rubber mallets and we got all the mattresses cut to size by the end of the day.

While we were finishing cutting mattresses and gluing Sweet Sleep logos to the bed frames, a few members of the team went off to the gym to spend some time with some of the boys. Apparently it was mostly older boys, and while they started out playing volleyball, it apparently the quickly devolved into some sort of dodgeball free for all that would scare Ben Stiller. The team returned to the work room one by one with dazed looks on their faces. It wasn't really a great start to our interaction with the boys, so we'll have to work on that in the days ahead. Pray that we can figure out some way to keep a bunch of mentally handicapped teenage boys calm and focused on some kind of activity that doesn't endanger anyone's life.

All in all, I'd say it was a good start. We got some good work done, and we made some new friends from the church who are willing to help us this week. Tomorrow we'll start assembling the beds. I know the boys are really excited about getting them, especially a guy named Martin that I met when I visited this place on a scouting trip last November, so it will be really great to see their reactions to them once they see completed beds.

We really could use your prayers this week as we continue to search for the best ways to interact with the boys and share some much needed love and friendship with them. Thanks again to all our friends and family who have made it possible to be here to love these kids. We love and miss you all.

Stuart

P.S. Thanks to Hannah for the cool picture at the top of this post.

The Bed Frenzy

We got to visit Casa de Copii today, which was a fantastic surprise since we weren't planning on going until tomorrow. So, being able to see the atmosphere and some of the kids before jumping head first into an entire day will hopefully help us prepare for the week.

When we arrived, it was immediately obvious that these children are starved for attention. They want to hold your hand, kiss your cheeks, and cling to you. Another one of our observations is that the children we met today are a lot older than we expected, but they were so excited to see us and talk to us. Most of the younger children were inside, including the 110 that do not get out of bed. Hopefully, we will be able to see more of the children tomorrow, who are not capable of coming to us. Our time was limited today, so be on the lookout for many amazing stories about Casa de Copii tomorrow.

But for now, let me tell you a little bit about Martin... a fantastic person who was absolutely estatic when we arrived. Jen had told me about him after her first visit to Casa de Copii months ago, (see the photo above). He is about 18 years old, and according to him, he's famous there and everyone knows him. Needless to say, experiencing his smile and excitement in person was beyond words. He had an entire thank you speech for our team, which he presented in the middle of the playground. He told us we were bringing hope to everyone and he had been waiting for her to return with the beds. When we were leaving, Jen told him to be looking for the truck with the beds to arrive around 5:00. When we finally got there about a hour and a half late, (still no truck in sight), he was there waiting. The time we got to spend with Martin and the other boys who came out to greet us was precious. One of them would smile from ear to ear everytime we looked at him, and could barely control his excitement. Obviously, there was a reason the truck was a little later than expected.

When the truck arrived, it was really touching to see about 25 boys with various handicaps, rushed outside to help unload the truck. They moved extremely fast, and helped us complete the job in 45 minutes, which would have taken us several hours without their help.

I'm sure we'll arrive tomorrow morning to a crowd of boys waiting for us.

Noapte Buna!!!

We made it to Moldova!

March 29th, 2008

By the grace of ourLord we have made it safely to Moldova. What a journey. I have to say that for traveling such a distance and for such long hours, our trip actually went by really fast. Our departure went very smoothly. We were sent off by family and friends that came to the airport to pray as we left. The first plane was the smallest that I have been on and I have to say that I had a slight panic attack, since I am not a fan of flying. Thank God for Laura, she kept me focused in our great conversation and all of the worries went out the window. At the airport in DC, we had a layover of 4 hours and that gave us some time to interact more with each other and I have to say that we have the best chemistry any group could ever have. At that moment we realized that we were in for a great journey. The flight from DC to Germany went fairly smoothly, besides the bad take off and landing. The 8 hour flight went really fast after hours of sleeping and eating. By the time we got to Frankfurt, we all started to feel the tiredness of long traveling time. We managed to eat again and sleep a little until the hours went by and it was time to board our last flight. By far the best flight we had was our last one to Moldova. Great takeoff, alot of empty spaces, good food, lots and lots of laughter and a great landing. We all let out a sigh of relief when we landed and became very anxious to get out of the airport and head to our home away from home. The dinner we had at our team house was amazing. Lydia is a great cook and we got brownies with icecream for dessert, my favorite. I also want to thank you all for the sweet letter that our prayer partners have written for us for each day that we are here. I can tell you all that we were all very happy and emotional as we saw and read the touching letters. There were lots of tears as we know that this mission is a life changing experience for all of us and to have a little piece of home here with us makes us really happy (thanks mom, dad, Javi and Nicole). Well this is all for now. I am headed to bed after a long day as tomorrow our job begins in Moldova.

Sweet Sleep,

Irene Rodriguez