March Newsletter

March 2007

123 Auto Drive
Boise, ID 83709
208.321.7440

Str. Ion Vidu Nr. 25
Bistrita -BN Code 4400
Romania, Europe
40.075.118.3962

On March 1st we celebrated a special day here in Romania...it's called Martişor and it's celebrating the coming Spring. To celebrate, the girls buy the boys a small gift. It's a little pendant with thin red and white thread. The red represents love and the white celebrates peace. The pendants are either spring flowers, a horseshoe or some other figurine. They are pinned on the shirts and worn throughout the day. It's a way of saying thank you...not just because Spring is coming, but for the kindness the men have shown the women. It's kind of a fun thing...everyone really gets into it. There are street vendors everywhere selling these little pendants. I actually received 6 of them from my English students because our class met on that day. It was awesome! Then we had another holiday on March 8th called Woman’s Day…kind of like our Mother's day...only it's for all women. The men buy flowers and candy for the women and go out of their way to make the day special. Teachers all over Bistrita were carrying home armloads of flowers on that day. The boys in our English class got every girl a small bouquet of tiny white flowers and a card…they even wrote mine in English! All of the New Beginnings family center mothers and workers were treated to a special lunch at a local restaurant and we had a great time visiting with each other and enjoying the special day. Spring truly is a really wonderful time here in Romania!

We took the youth group bowling this month and had a great time! There is only one bowling spot in town, but it is really nice! Small (only 6 lanes), but cleaner and nicer than any bowling alley in Boise! Only one of the teens had actually bowled before, so it was really fun to be there for their first bowling experience. They did pretty well for their first time! It wasn’t too expensive…a little over $3/game...including shoes...which were all brand new! Something a little different here in Romania…they gave us little footies to wear over our socks...like surgeons wear in surgery. It was kind of weird, but hygienic -ha! It was really fun and nice to bowl again for the first time in a long time.

My work at the orphanage is going well and the kids are really becoming attached to me. The little girl named Mia pulls me to a spot in the room, and then motions for me to pick her up. When I do, she wraps her arms around my neck and puts her head on my shoulder. She just stays there...when I try to put her down and play with her...she goes through the whole routine again. It's wonderful that she is expressing her love that way, but sad that she doesn't get it on a regular basis. I have never seen any of the other workers there holding her like that although I know they love her. Everyone always smiles and warmly greets her when they see her; I just think she needs a little more affection. I am happy to provide it! I'm worried about Georgel though...he is the blind and autistic child who hits himself...slaps his face mostly...lately he's been pulling his hair out. In fact, he has pulled out whole chunks of his hair! In only three days he had a good 1/4 of his gone! It's so sad. They decided to give him a closely shaved haircut as a result and he is doing better now.
One of my goals at the orphanage has been to take the children outside! They rarely get to leave their crib; much less their room…so to get outside is a rare experience for them. I have been able to take both Mia and Georgel to the park. It’s a 15 minute walk and I think Georgel actually enjoys the walk more than the park itself. I think the playground equipment is a little overwhelming for him at times…although he LOVED the swing when I put him on it. He was laughing out loud and having a great time! I also enjoyed watching him discover sand for the first time. Seeing him run his fingers through the cool granules with more and more enthusiasm each time he touched it almost made me cry. On the way home one day a big farm tractor drove past us. He abruptly stopped and listened intently as it slowly went by. It was as if he could see it…the sound it made was so different than any of the other vehicles on the street that it captivated him. I thought of how much the little boys in our family centers love to see tractors and it made me smile to think how normal Georgel was in that moment…if he could talk I think he would have been shouting with joy…look, a tractor!
I have also been getting to know the staff at the placement center and enjoying them very much. The director (Roxana) speaks English, so we are able to chat every day. Also, the head of the nurses (Bobi) is eager to know me better. Although she doesn’t speak much English, we are able to communicate pretty well between my limited Romanian and her limited English. She is one of my favorite people at the placement center. She is always so friendly to me and I have seen how the children melt in her arms and how Cristi’s breathing (which is normally labored) returns to normal after she holds him for a while. She is amazing! I watch her every chance I get so I can learn from her. After running into Bobi at the grocery store one day, she invited me to her house for lunch the following Sunday. We were able to enjoy some great conversation because her husband knows English and her brother-in-law and another colleague, who were visiting from Bucharest, also speak perfect English. I ended up being at her apartment from 12:30 until almost 6PM…all of it at the dinner table! Talk about social eating – ha! We had a wonderful traditional Romanian meal…but there was so much food…appetizers, soup, traditional Romanian Sarmale, dessert, lots of bread and “suc” (soda). It was incredible!


Please continue to pray for:

• Leaning the Romanian Language
• The conversational English classes at the Community Center for Youth
• Continued learning to work with children with special needs
• That I will have a greater servant’s heart to be a blessing to the Romanian people


With His loving grace & peace,
Natalie Bridges
natalie926@hotmail.com



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