Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! I just got off the phone with my Dad (age 88). So good to hear his voice and wish him a Happy Father's Day.

Last night, we attended a special worship service at Casa Nuestra, a property owned by NOROC. The service was held outside, under the carport cover, which is home to the NOROC van. (Romanians are very resourseful, making good use of everything.) chairs surrounded the perimeter in a circle. With a few benches and chairs in the middle. We were all seated facing the communion table, complete with a beautiful brass cross (just like our's at Westminster), a basket of bread, a picture of water with a fresh lily, and a pitcher of juice.

I should explain: Ninety percent of the Romanian people are Orthodox. NOROC does a beautiful job of working with children from all faiths: Orthodox, Presbyterian, Baptist, Muslim...everyone works together to help the children. Not always as easy task, but we're all here for the same purpose.

So....in the Orthodox service, a lily is dipped in water and the water is "flung" towards the congregation. I'm sure there's a more appropriate word than "flung," but that's the best I can came up with right now! Thus, the pitcher of water with a lily.

The purpose of the special worship service was two-fold. First, to celebrate the conclusion of our trip and secondly, to witness the confirmation of a teenage girl. She was baptized as an infant in the Orthodox church, yet at this point in her life, wanted to publicly profess her faith and be confirmed, as a sign of her love and dedication to Christ.

We sang hymns together in Romanian and English. Rev. Mary and Rev. Rich led comunion. There was a brief message and the young lady was confirmed. At the conclusion, I sang a duet, "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee," with my young Romanian baritone friend. I sang in English while he simotaneously sang in Romanian. It was a very special moment for me and I hope for others, too.

The service was hosted by Rev. Mary's Thursday night Bible study group, many of which attended camp. It was so good to see them again. I sat by my new friend Narcesa, who helped me make paper flowers a few days earlier. Such a precious child of God! Others on attendance were NOROC staff members and supporters in Romania, as well as us, the American team.

After the service, we went to dinner at a hotel overlooking the Danube. It was the perfect night to end our time in Tulcea. Early the morning, we left Tulcea for a six-hour drive to Transylvania, where we visited two castles, including the Dracula castle. (Or so they say.)

Tomorrow, we'll drive back to Bucharest with a few sightseeing stops along the way. After spending tomorrow night near the airport, our flight leaves early Tuesday morning for the US.

Love to you all,

Bobbie Ann

Bittersweet

Bitter because we're leaving the beautiful country and it's children in the morning.
Sweet because I miss my husband and family terribly am anxious to head home in the morning!

Today was a great day. Awoke to a lovely breakfast overlooking the Carpathian mountains. Headed out for Bucharest with several nice stops along the way. We had the nicest young man as a driver for the past two days. Very polite and helpful, well beyond the assigned responsibilities of his job. We visited the city of Brasov, where the Black Church is located, so named after a catastrophic fire in 1689. The flames and smoke blackened it's walls, but the sumptuousness and the grandeur of the church could not be shattered. The Black is home to a 4,000 pipe organ built by Bushels from Berlin in 1838-1839.

Brasov is also home to great shopping, so we were able to complete our gift lists before leaving. For lunch, we ate in a wonderful restaurant full of ambiance. It was built into and around stone foundation of a hotel, which sits above the restaraunt. I ordered a capreese salad, which was delicious, followed by a platter of grilled vegitables. Perfect! To end the meal, Barbie and I shared a Peach Cream desert. Divine!

After leaving Brasov, we continued south towards Buchareast, which was a 6 hour drive. We're staying overnight at a hotel near the airport. The 6:30 am shuttle will take us to the airport. Then it's off to Heathrow and lastly, DFW. Ron is picking up Sharron, Marty and me and will be our "driver" back to Nacogdoches.

Tonight's Bible study was taken from Matthew 25:14-28, if you're following along. This the parible about The Talents.

The end of our prayer:
Judge me tonight, Lord,
Review with me the talants and my use
of them before it is too late to learn,
Set free your gift of grace within my living.
And let it lead me out into creative investments
of my life and my love in the building
of your kingdom.

Love in Christ,
Bobbie Ann

A Day in Tulcia

Beautiful Tulcea market with fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Saturday morning, women gather to gossip at the market square. Their husbands sat on the next bench. Some things are universal!

Petru took this aerial view of Tulcea. The large yellow building in the middle houses a grocery store on the lower floor and a mall shopping area on the upper floors. Our hotel is the tall building northeast of the yellow building. The market, Casa Nuestra, NOROC offices, the Orthodox Church, IBIS B&B, as well as the orphanages are within walking distance.

Sorry for the sloppiness of the last post. I think I was half asleep.

Marty, Sharon and I rode the bus with the apartment kids back to Tulcia last night. Some of the children live in the orphanage and some of the older teens live in apartments with a supervisor.

Our last day at camp was wonderful! Perfect weather, great participation and everyone got along beautifully. Like all teenagers, they spent the first part of camp learning the boundaries. There was a little tension. By the next day, all was fine. These kids have such troubled loves, but somehow, they cope. More about camp later!

This morning, Marty and I walked a couple of blocks to an outdoor food market. Beautiful produce! We bought local cherries and peaches. Wanted to buy much more, but I can't bring it home. Very sweet people in Romania. I haven't seen a single example of rude behavior toward us.

We then walked to meet the pre-school children at an indoor play area for young children. It's kind of like a play area at McDonald's or Chick Fillet, only much, much larger. In addition to climbing toys, their are riding toys, puzzles, etc. It was very clean and nice. I believe it is a privately owned business that parents pay to take their children to, but NOROC reserved the entire room this morning for our group. These are the same children we saw last Saturday. Such a joy to see their precious faces again. More about this later.

Sharon conducted her second Play Therapy Workshop with over 50 participants! Very well received! More about this later, too.

Tonight, we'll attend some type off closing dinner. Some of the kids will be there, in addition to NOROC staff and volunteers.

Love to you all,
Bobbie Ann

Back to Tulcia

Left camp at 9 pm. Back in Tuchia. Very tired. Madge is my roomie and already asleep. Lots to share at the right time.

So much to share yet!
Love through Christ,

"The Americans"

We are known as "The Americans." This is our team:

Rich and Carol are from Lubbock and have been very involved with NOROC for many years. Rich is a Presbyterian minister and Carol teaches Pre-K. This is Rich's seventh trip to Romania and Carol's fourteenth! We certainly appreciate their experience and leadership. Rich enjoys woodwork, so he and David have taught the kids how to build birdhouses. He has a basic knowledge of the language, drives the van, and helps in many other ways. Carol, together with Mary of NOROC, wrote our camp curriculum, schedule, etc. She and Barbie lead the group physical activities every day. Also, Carol speaks Romanian very well! Carol is the "adopted American mother" to a 30 year old young man here, whom she met when he was 22. Rich and Carol have two grown daughters.

David and Barbie are also from Lubbock. This is their first trip to Romania. David runs a family hardware/furniture with his brother and sister. Also a woodworker, David designed the birdhouses and made the templates. The night we arrived at camp, David and Rich cut wood for the birdhouses using tools they brought with them. The children then painted and assembled the houses. David is very soft-spoken, but when he speaks his wisdom is obvious. Barbie is a speech pathologist and her experience with children is invaluable. She, too, soft-spoken but when she talks, we all listen! David and Barbie have three grown children (I think!).

Madge is from New Branfels and is retired. For 15 seasons, Madge has worked at Yellowstone National Park as a supervisor. An avid hiker, Madge has visited Switzerland twice, as well as many other well-known hiking locations on the US and abroad. This is Madge's second trip to Romania with NOROC. On the previous visit, Madge met the Roma (Gypsy) children that I mentioned in a previous post and generously provides for many of their needs. A portrait artist, Madge sketched the face of each precious child In Session I, which she then gave to them. Not a girly girl, Madge has graciously put up with the silliness of Sharon, Marty and me as we all share a room. Madge has three grown sons and seven gradchildren.

These five, plus Marty, Sharon and I make up the American Team!

Love to you all,
Bobbie Ann

"James"

I would like to tell you about one of our campers, a young man. To honor his privacy, I'll call him"James."

As these campers arrived yesterday, my attention was drawn to James. With sandy blond hair, a golden tan, and a medium yet athletic build, you would think he was a lifeguard in the beach instead of an orphan in Romania. Always looking for the soccer ball, James loves the sport. His English is excellent, the best of any of the kids I've met. In fact, I've asked him to serve ad translator for me several times.

James is intelligent. Almost scary the way his brain works. And he's a deep thinker, always commenting on a much higher level than others. Unfortunately, his intelligence gets him into trouble. James is always plotting to get out of scheduled activities and play soccer or smoke behind the fence instead.

During rotation groups, Mary leads small group study time. I happened to be with James group during that time. The question Mary posed to the children was, "What do you see as the biggest problems in the world today, and how can we as Christians help?" Mary put the kids in pairs and gave each pair a poster-size piece of white paper with a circle in the center, representing the globe. They could draw or write in any way to express their answer. Afterward, each pair stood and explained their work.

James and his partner drew a face in the globe. I couldn't tell if it was a pirate, a clown, or what. James read what he wrote below the face. To summarize, the face represented indifference. James believes the end of times is near and we don't care about anything anymore. Choices don't matter. It makes no difference if we're good or bad, because it will all end soon.

His words and drawing touched me so. What pain, sadness, and hopelessness. Please pray for him. You don't need his name: God knows.

Dear Lord,
Touch James' heart. Give him hope. Ease his sense of "indifference." Show him your Grace. Let him grow into the intelligent leader he could be. Guide him down the path of righteousness. Provide Christian male roll models for James, Lord. And may NOROC be a tool for your will.
In Christ name we pray,
Amen

Hidden Treasure

We have group Bible study with the staff every morning and evening. Today's lesson is taken from Matthew 23:44-46, if you'd like to follow along. So many pearls among these children!

The ending of our morning prayer:
I thank you for these hidden things,
the moments that surprise, the secret depths
that hide below the surface
of your wonderful, mysterious creation.
Let me not be so preoccupied
with the busyness of this day
that I forget to watch for, to be ready to,
the treasures you have hidden along the way.
Amen

I hope you have a wonderful day!
Love through Christ,
Bobbie Ann