Reflections from Moldova

As I look back on the three weeks I spent in Moldova, I can't help but think about how fortunate I was to be able to see life through the eyes of the people there. I was reminded that true happiness and joy cannot be found in anything materialistic. The children at the orphanages reminded me of that every time they came running up to me to shower me with hugs and love. Their infectious smiles were worth more than anything in the whole world. They may have very little possessions, but they have something many Americans lack...true joy. Their joy isn't based on their circumstances or the situations they find themselves in.

Throughout the course of my time in Moldova, I was the recipient of unfathomable amounts of love. Even though it was my second time in Moldova, I was still amazed at the children's capacity to love unconditionally. Despite the way their families may have treated them, they are able to immediately accept you the way you are and love you that way. I didn't have to have the fanciest clothes or care about my outward appearance for the kids to love me and want to be around me. They crave love as much as they give it and it was my privilege to be able to love them back in the same way they loved me.

During this trip, I had a lot of first time experiences. I washed clothes for the first time in Moldova. I quickly learned to appreciate the dryer I had at home as there wasn't one at the team house and we had to dry our clothes out on a drying rack. Usually clothes are hung outside on the clothes line, but since there was a chance of rain, we dried them inside. Another first for me was using a very primitive bathroom facility, which was basically a hole in the ground. I cannot even find words to describe the gut wrenchingly awful smell that accompanied that bathroom. I just know that I learned to appreciate facilities with an actual toilet and running water. (though I definitely appreciate being able to flush toilet paper since that wasn't possible in many places that we frequented)

I learned to appreciate working appliances, when we cooked dinner at the boys' apartment. I learned to appreciate air conditioning, since most places didn't have it. (though I'm cold natured, so I was ok most of the time) After teaching about money management, I really appreciated the lessons my parents had taught me to get me to save for the future. I learned to appreciate the savings in my bank account.

I heard about some of those in the transitional living facilities having problems with their kidneys. I was informed that the medical equipment there is so basic that they cannot just use an MRI or CT scan to find out the problem. They have to basically guess based on the symptoms. The ones that were having kidney problems had not been cured from the infection for quite some time. I really got to thinking about how blessed we are to have the medical professionals that we have and the equipment that we have here to help diagnose our medical problems.

There are so many other lessons I learned on this trip, but I am still recovering from jetlag and am fighting to keep my eyelids open. Before I end this, I would like to ask for your prayers. Last September I read "The Hole in our Gospel" by Richard Stearns and through the information I got from that book, I really felt called to do something with orphans. I wasn't sure what, so I contacted the executive director of JMI, Steve Davis. I talked to him about sponsoring an orphan and I ended up sponsoring 6 yr old Ana-Maria at the orphanage in Straseni. Even after agreeing to sponsor an orphan, I felt called to do more. I signed up to go on the Christmas in Moldova trip and, while I was there, I knew that God had called me to a longer-term stay there. I wasn't sure how long of a term it would be, but when I returned home the possibility of 3 months came around. Due to some unforseen circumstances, the 3 months option just didn't work out. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to go to Moldova at all this summer. Well, the option to go for 3 weeks presented itself and, to make a long story short, I ended up going for 3 weeks.

During those 3 weeks, I knew that Moldova is where God is calling me and that the time frame wouldn't be 3 months, but more like 1 year. I'm praying that God would open those doors for me to be able to go back for 1 year. If things are able to work out, I would love to go back sooner rather than later. I don't want to get back into the swing of things and get too comfortable with the way things are here. We've done so much there already that I'd like to continue to build on that as soon as possible. I'm not sure exactly what all I would be doing, but I'm going to set up a meeting with Steve and push him to get some answers for me. I would appreciate your prayers as I seek this opportunity God has placed in my heart. I appreciate your support more than you know.

I will now leave you with some pictures from the trip...

(Eduard, Ilie, Igor & Dima being goofy with their sign as they welcome our team to Moldova.)

(Veronica & me at camp. I am blessed to be able to sponsor such a sweet & caring young girl.)

(Alex & his pal, Loreti, at camp in Falesti.)

(Me & Loreti became friends too. He is such a happy kid!)

(Leaving camp was hard on us, but also on the kids.)

(Going home was especially hard for me after bonding with the Boys2Leaders. Don't be fooled by my smile in this picture. A few minutes before I was in tears. They really are a group of wonderful, Christian young men and I am so proud of them!)