First Week!

Well I cannot believe I am actually in Romania and that my first week has come and gone.  It has been great catching up with old friends here and hearing about all that the Lord has been doing in Brasov since I moved back to California in 2010. Fall is in full swing and the colors are simply beautiful, I'm just sorry I have not been able to take very many pictures! I arrived in Brasov on Monday night.  I was welcomed by a big group of old and new friends who were celebrating Canada’s Thanksgiving Day.  The next day I had a meeting with a few people and Sarah, the founder and president of Firm Foundations, the organization I am working with.  Sarah has been asking for me to come back to Romania for years and I am so thankful the Lord opened up the door for me to come now.  We had a good time discussing the goals she has for the After School Program.  That night I went to look at an apartment, but unfortunately it was not a good fit for me.  So the apartment hunt continues while I stay at the hostel run by Firm Foundations.  It will be so nice to have my own place again, I have been living out of a suitcase for almost 2 months now and I am longing to completely unpack and be settled. On Wednesday I was out for my first day in Budila, the village where we run our After School Program.  I was out there from 9:30-5:00.  It was a great day observing Ioana, one of our teachers and helping a few of the kids who needed extra help.  On Thursday I did the same, this time observing some of Juliana’s classes and helping the kids who needed some more help.  We are blessed with a great building that has been newly renovated with 3 classrooms to use. Friday I had a meeting with Juliana and Ioana.  As the After School Coordinator I wanted us to all be on the same page and to really praise them for how amazing the program is going.  I am so impressed with what they are doing with the kids.  After observing them for the 2 days I wanted to go over some ideas I had for the program and to hear their ideas for how we can improve.  It was a really great meeting. I feel so blessed to be working with these 2 ladies and I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do.  That afternoon I went to Budila for a couple of hours to work on the files for the kids.  There is much organizing that needs to be done, and lucky for me, I love to do that kind of stuff! Next week I will have my own classes.  I will work with 12-18 kids a day who need the most basic help and are not able to keep up with the children in the other classes.  We have some 5th graders who can barely write and cannot read, as well as some kids who I am sure have learning disabilities and are very behind the rest of the children.  On Thursdays I will run a Reading Group in the afternoon.  Fridays will be my day to go to the Children’s Hospital where I used to work, to work a shift in the Play Therapy Room of the Neurological/Psychiatric floor.  I will work in the afternoon at the office of Firm Foundations on paperwork and planning for the next week’s After School Program classes. Things are so busy here already!  Please keep me in your prayers that I find an apartment soon.  Also for my health, I have already come down with a cold and am exhausted.  Please keep my re-adjustment into Romanian life in your prayers, as things are much slower here, and I tend to be a fast paced person.  Please pray for my kids in my classes and all the children in the After School Program as well as Juliana and Ioana who are working with me.  And PLEASE pray for my driving, I go to pick up the car I will be using tomorrow and I am nervous about driving with a stick shift especially here in Brasov, the land of crazy traffic circles and hills!  I have not driven a stick shift since 1998 and I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing, especially because it is the Foundations car. I know God is faithful and He will provide what I need!   Normally I will write an email once a month, but I wanted to let you all know that I arrived safe and the exciting things that lay ahead.  Thank you for your support and prayers! Grace and peace, Rachel If you are interested in supporting me financially, click HERE for more information.