Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Summer is in the air!
I cannot believe that the end of June is right around the corner and we
have made it officially to the summertime! Other than a week of being
sick, this month has been incredible with some pretty special highlights
I am very excited to share.
It is so interesting seeing how the Lord uses gifts and skills we have
learned along the way in our lives in the future. Since I was a child I
worked on projects with my parents and learned how to use tools and
paint. Then in high school I took drafting and construction and learned
how to use all kinds of power tools. Well the Lord put all those
skills to use! I had so much fun this month working on building a
Pallet Wall for my friend Steffi’s son. He wanted to have a bit more
privacy and since we had a lot of pallets laying around we decided to
build him a wall! I have to say, that I am amazed at how it turned
out. Truly I cannot take all the credit for it, it totally was a God
thing, with only a picture from Pinterest as inspiration, I worked with
the kids to build the wall.
Some of my favorite memories from childhood
involve working on things like this and so I really enjoyed being able
to work with Steffi’s 3 kids on the wall. Beca and Roxy helped me paint
and we learned all about using a roller to paint with and a brush.
Then Costel helped with the power tools of course. He learned how to
use a drill for drilling and for screwing things in. I think he was
pretty excited to use real power tools! In order to give him the
privacy he wanted, we found an old duvet cover, cut it in 2 and put it
in between the slats, then with 2 pillow shams we made curtains above
his bed so he could look out if wanted to. I put a string to hold his
flashlight, then we cut up milk jugs and screwed them to the wall so he
would have a place for his stuff (we are still collecting more!) and on
the front of the wall we hung a string for his art work! Honestly I had
so much fun working with these kids and the finished product came out
great!
This month means, I’ve hit the 8 month mark
and can officially say that I have finished the school year off with my
kids in my After School Program (ASP). June saw a few of our kids from
the program in the children’s hospital for various reasons. I am at the
hospital each Friday so I was able to visit 2 of my kids who were
there.
The ASP has had an incredible year. It is the first full school year
the program has run and it has been amazing. It has had its highs and
lows, it difficulties and it joys. We have learned a lot and will
continue to improve the program and implement all that we have learned
this year for the next year. What an amazing journey this has been for
me and I am so blessed that Sarah and FFR asked me to be a part of this
adventure.
Seeing my kids, who I have had since the beginning grow so much makes me
feel like a proud parent. Kids who could did not know the alphabet at
the beginning of the school year are READING! Truly unbelievable. This
has been one of the most humbly experiences I have ever been a part of.
Knowing that each of these children in our program has heard the Word
of God taught to them, they have memorized a new Bible verse each week,
they have sung songs and grew in their education is amazing. This is truly life changing for them.
But most importantly they have learned about Jesus and how much He loves
them and cares for them and has a future and a hope for their little
lives.
We had a graduation for all our kids. It went wonderful, the kids sang songs and the 8th
graders and High Schoolers received certificates. Firm Foundations
Romania Leadership got each of the full time staff and long term
volunteers a rose to thank us. It was a proud moment for the children
and for those of us who have worked with them all year. It was actually
much more emotional than I thought it would be as I had my kids run up
to me telling what grade they would be in next year, there were lots of
hugs and happy faces. We will have some time off during the summer, but
will also have an English Camp, and a couple of Vacation Bible Schools
with teams from the States.
A little video with pics from our Kids Club and the After School Program Graduation!
You hear a lot about two of my girls in my
first grade class, sisters, Vasilica (age 9) and Raluca (age 10). Well I am proud to say that
not only have these two beautiful young ladies graduated from the first
grade and will be going to the second grade next year, they both earned
scholarships due to their good grades! They write beautiful and they
are reading and doing math! One of Vasi’s favorite things to do is to
play an addition came we have.
Our kids know they are loved and it has allowed them to grow so beautifully!
I am truly humbled, thankful, and blessed to
have worked with the staff and volunteers of the After School Program
this year. I know the success we have had is because of the hard work
and love each of us has invested in these children. The Lord has
blessed the work of our hands and the fruit of it is evident in each
life that has been touched.
Thank you for your prayer and support this past school year. I look
forward to this summer, the teams we will be working with and the time I
will have to get ready for my interns who will be arriving at the
beginning of August. The work that the Lord has for me has grown and I
so look forward to all the good things He has in store.
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