Sept/Oct 2009 Update

The weather is changing on a daily basis these days...sunny and warm, rainy, sunny and cold, just plain cold...we even had a little snow already! It's been beautiful though with all the fall colors. There was an article in the local paper today about Autumn. To my surprise, the picture that accompanied the article was of ME and Ildiko taken today as we were walking to the orphanage! Life is full of surprises. Just as Autumn brings surprises and changes, so has the last couple of months. Here is an update of some of the highlights.

Ladies Tea

We had our annual Ladies Tea on October 10th and it was a huge success. The topic this year was Contentment and it was a great reminder to all of us to enjoy what we have and where God has placed us. Andreea Hogan from Calvary Chapel in Brasov was our speaker and she brought some friends with her from Brasov when she came. The church was decorated beautifully and we had a wonderful potluck feast. We also played some hilarious games that helped us get to know each other better in a fun way. Overall, it was a truly enjoyable event and everyone was blessed by the teaching and the fellowship.





Orphanage

In addition to working with the children in the “baby room” at the orphanage, Ildiko and I have been endeavoring to spend more time with the older children. There are about 25 severely challenged young adults who live at the orphanage. Half of them are able to attend a special school during the day and I only get to see them on Saturday. Of this group, several are able to converse with us and although it is difficult for me to understand them sometimes, it does provide more opportunities to make connections. One of the topics of conversation that is brought up almost on a daily basis is that of animals. The children are always talking about them and it has been my dream to someday take them to the zoo. Since the closest zoo is 1.5 hours by car, I knew it would be a miracle for that to happen. However, I know God is a miracle working God, so I began to pray about it. Imagine my excitement when we were told that an anonymous sponsor had provided the funds for a day trip to the zoo!! I literally jumped up and down in excitement! For the first time ever, we took a group of kids from our orphanage to the ZOO and it was a truly wonderful time! Everything was PERFECT...the weather was beautiful, we had plenty of snacks and drinks for the kids, the van ride was smooth and easy and no one got carsick, etc. We really had no problems at all.

The fun actually started in the van...the kids really enjoyed looking out the window and listening to the music. The boys who sat next to the windows were glued to them. Vasile was sitting in the row in front of me and he kept turning around to look at me with a huge smile on his face. I think he was enjoying it so much he kept looking at me as if to say, "hey, are you seeing what I'm seeing? This is so cool!!" He must have looked back at me 100 times during our time in the van. I just smiled back really big and acknowledged that it was indeed very cool! Hercule sat next to me and he discussed with me all of his favorite sites along the way. He had to keep wiping his window because of the moisture from his breathing. Ha!

We enjoyed some snacks when we arrived at the zoo before going inside. The kids love to eat, so it was quite enjoyable for them to have bananas and yogurt and juice....what a great treat!

With full tummies and empty bladders we were finally ready to enter the zoo! We all had a great time looking at the animals and spent almost 2 hours walking leisurely from one exhibit to the next. We had some laugh out loud moments...the first one was in the first exhibit...the monkey house. We saw a mouse running on the floor and in a flash Hercule was running after it. He was so fast and nimble I thought he might actually catch it! Fortunately, one of the other workers grabbed his hand and kept him in check or he might have disappeared after the mouse. At one point, Hercule was crouched down so low he was only inches off the ground looking for the elusive mouse. It was hilarious! Another humorous moment was near the big elk exhibit...one of the elk began bugling and one of the children said, "Do you hear that? It's Paul!" He was right, the noise the elk was making sounded an awful lot like Paul when he is upset. We all just had to laugh at that. Another moment was at the goat exhibit. Mario, who is normally afraid of everything was so excited about the goats. He loved them and was not afraid of them at all. He started talking to the goats saying, "Hai la Mario, iubito"...which means Come to Mario, darling. It was so cute!

There were many special moments...especially for Hercule who actually got to touch (and kiss) a pony that was one of several allowed to wander around the park loose. What a thrill that was for him! All the children had a fun time and we enjoyed watching them enjoy themselves.

On the way home we stopped at a restaurant to eat. It was a little farther out of town than we remembered and we weren't sure if Florin was going to make it...he was so HUNGRY! He kept asking every few minutes when we were going to eat...we had to keep telling him just a few minutes more. Poor guy! It was worth the wait though...the restaurant was very accommodating and we had a semi-private area in the outdoor seating area that was beautiful. We enjoyed inexpensive and delicious food (can't beat that combination) and had plenty of it. They even prepared a special meal for the little boys that was so good that Marius ate ALL of it and Mario nearly ate it all. Apparently, they ate so much that they weren't hungry for the rest of the day! After our wonderful meal, we headed for home with lots of happy memories to reflect upon.

My Birthday
I celebrated my birthday in September….three times! One with Romanian cultural influences, one was American style, and one was kid style. The custom in Romania is for the birthday person to take charge of his/her birthday celebration. They furnish the fun…the food, cake, etc. as a gift from them to celebrate their special day. So, in the traditional Romanian way, I planned my birthday party, decorated, bought the food, celebrated, and then cleaned it all up! Ha! The only thing I didn’t do this year was make my own cake…Cynthia and Ildiko took care of that for me and their results were delicious! It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it, but I was exhausted when it was over! Two days later, a couple of ladies from the church decided to show me how much they love me by giving me their version of an American birthday celebration…and I have to say, I like the way they think! Ha! They drove me to Cluj (a large city 2 hours from Bistrita) and took me to get my hair cut at a very nice salon. Then we went to the mall where we had Pizza Hut pizza and after lunch we went shopping and they bought me a beautiful blouse. I was overwhelmed by their generosity and we had a great time laughing and enjoying each other’s company.


The final celebration was at the afterschool program. We had a big celebration because Raul’s birthday was the day before mine and Nicusor’s was the day after mine. We made pizza and the kids wanted me to paint their faces like clowns and then we had my masterpiece….a chocolate chip cookie cake! It was the first time I had ever tried anything like it and I’m happy to say it turned out to be delicious! I had to laugh at the clown faces though…I ended up painting them like I do my own face and they all looked like mini-me’s in clown. They sure were cute! I did get a little creative and turned one into a clown pirate. Hilarious! A week later I received a wonderful package from my home group friends in Boise who sent me some beautiful and encouraging cards and other small gifts. It truly was a memorable and fun birthday!




100 year old washing machine



At the request of several Romanian friends, we took a trip to a village about 30 minutes outside of town a few weeks ago to take some rugs to a home where they have a 100 year old outdoor washing “machine”. It was an amazing set-up with water wheels and it was a fascinating experience to be looking at a process that has been in place for so many years. The owner has a booming business…there were more rugs than I could count…some in piles waiting to be washed, some being washed, and many more drying on the lines in the sun. The charge was nominal, bring your own laundry soap and the equivalent of $5 and they would wash your rug for you. Normally I see the locals hanging the rugs outdoors and beating them to get out the loose dirt or they’ll lay them in the street and hand wash them. Although this involved a little bit of travel, the ladies who received their rugs back in such a fine condition said it was well worth it! I am just glad I got to go along for the ride and see firsthand a bit of history and modern convenience in one setting.

After-school Program


After a fun summer filled with excursions and picnics and day-trips we settled back into the routine of school and homework and preparing for the big year-end exams. Unfortunately, the new school year has not started out so well. A few days before school started someone broke into the center and stole, among other things, the new school shoes that had been donated for the two oldest boys. Sadly, we suspect that one of the kids assisted in the break-in by unlocking one of the windows so the thief (or thieves) could get in. When we arrived the next day, we found the windows open and evidence that the perpetrator(s) had helped themselves to the microwave popcorn, smoked a cigarette in the office, and used the hair cutters, as well as taking numerous items. We filed a report at the police station, but the police didn’t take any action…none! It was very disappointing in every way.
Unfortunately, we’ve experienced an increase in behavioral problems in the last couple of months and suspect that it is a result of abuse in the lives of several of the younger children. It became clear to us that we needed to report our concerns to the department of child protection services who referred us to the police. It caused quite a bit of scandal, as you can imagine, and things got pretty bad for a while. We could really use your prayers for these children and the program as we are trying to decide now what changes need to be made. Just as Autumn brings a time of hibernation, it may be that this program needs to lie dormant for a while and let God make some necessary changes and breathe new life into the program.

Prayer Requests:
• Continuing to learn the Romanian language
• Spiritual growth for Oana & Raluca
• Wisdom in working with the older children and new workers in the orphanage
• For God to continue to help me prepare good lessons for my English class
• For us to meet the ongoing needs of Lavinia and Cosmina as well as our other foster children in the New Beginnings Family Centers
• Wisdom to handle the behavioral challenges of the children in the afterschool program

With much love,
Natalie Bridges
natalie926@hotmail.com


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