Mila ta cade cade cade :)

Hello!

Considering it has been over a week since I last wrote on here, I have a lot to say!

The first week of camp went by quickly! It was exhausting but so much fun. I am so glad to be hear
and to have this opportunity to love on God's children. Some kids were difficult and hard to handle, but most of
their behavior was just a way to get attention they don't get at home. On Thursday we were able to go back
to their village with the kids after the morning session. Unfortunately, it was exactly what I expected. The streets
were covered in trash and the houses were barely homes. However, each child couldn't wait to show us their
home and introduce us to their parent(s). It breaks my heart that such beautiful children and people live in such
a depressing area. Here in Romania there are poor and rich gypsies. The rich ones are really wealthy in relation to the
average Romanian - and they are what I picture when I think "gypsy" - the girls in long colorful skirts and headscarves.
But the poor gypsies are the poorest of the poor here and are highly discriminated against. It is their race that makes them
a gypsy - but honestly it is hard to tell them apart from another poor Romanian: they are all beautiful, bright eyed, dirty, and
dressed in whatever mixed matched clothes they can afford.

On Friday we had a special morning of camp for the 3-5 year olds filled with games, dancing, songs, and snacks. They had
a blast (so did we!) THEN, in the afternoon we took the kids to the Targu Mures Zoo. Now, this zoo is not like a zoo in America.
From many stories the other interns and I had been told - I was really scared to bring all of the kids there. Fortunately we had about one kid per leader so it was easy to keep up with them. At the zoo you can get hand to paw with lions, bears, and tigers (with a chain-link fence and a few metal bars in between of course). But really, you could touch them if you wanted too - not a great idea. The kid I hung out with all afternoons name was Armador. We touched a camel, bull, goat, and a llama. They even have guinea pigs, deer, and chickens at this zoo! haha. But it really was a great afternoon to spend with the kids and take them out of their territory! As the afternoon came to a close we spent some time in prayer in color groups and prayed over each child. It was a really special time and the kids were still - then we gave them their goody bags (t-shirt, toothpaste, toothbrush, socks, candy, and a story book!)

The weekend was kind of a blur, but the intern house was quiet a lot since we were trying to catch up on sleep!! This week we have 10-14 year olds from the same gypsy village as last week. We have one group of 50 in the morning and another group of about the same size in the afternoon. The morning group is from one "side" of the village and the afternoon group is from the other. The sides seem to hate each other for no reason - so it was the safest thing to do to keep them separate. I am the team leader for Albastru (blue)! I have 3 great translators who are so helpful and really great with the kids. In the morning we have 5 girls and in the afternoon we have 6 boys! Getting them to talk a lot during small group time is sometimes a challenge, but so far they have been great. I love having a team - so I can get to know and build relationships with these 11 kids.

The theme of camp this summer is "True Love" and the special guest character is, of course, cupid! :) I have never done the "Cupid Shuffle" dance so many times - but the kids love it and it is so fantastic to see their faces light up when they dance with us.

Please continue praying for me, the other interns, the Romanian staff, and the kids.
1) God has been teaching me so much about himself and how I need to change to be able to serve him better. Please pray that He will continue to reveal himself and I will continue to rely on him for strength and joy.
2) Most of the interns (including me) have been sick over the past week. It is all throat and sinus stuff - nothing horrible but it has made it harder to stay upbeat and excited around the kids. Please pray that we will all sleep well this week and that we will start to feel better.
3) While the kids this week don't run and need to be chased or need to be held, they are difficult to connect with because they have much more of a tough shell built around them. Please pray that God will use us to crack those shells and that their hearts will be receptive the message of "True Love" this week at camp.

Whew, that was a lot of typing. Love you all!

Pentru ca Dumnezeu ma iubeste, sunt special :)

Servus!

We (the other interns and I) got to Romania at 11:00pm on Wednesday night. Since then we have been orienting, playing with the Livada kids, getting used to living with each other, learning how to get around town, and practicing our Romanian of course! :)

It has been good to see old friends and spend time catching up with them! I love seeing the kids I had in groups in 2005 and 2007 again! We went to First Baptist TM yesterday and it was really good to see Daniel, a guy about my age that my dad has known since he was really young. He speaks English now so that was extremely helpful :) Yesterday afternoon we went to the Livada group homes to see the kids and they were watching a video my dad brought them. It was a camp video from 1999! It was so funny to see Curtis members playing with the Ludus kids! Specific people I saw... the Harrisons, Lindsay, Mrs. Alicia, Jordan, Mr. Tommy, and Jeremy C.

Last night we had intern Bible study at Jeff and Jenny's house. We ate dinner and started our study on the book "crazy love." It sounds like it will be a great time of fellowship and growth this summer!

Today was the first day of camp! Whoo :) Even though we are exhausted it was a great day! I took some time on the way there to just look out the window and enjoy God creation. The mountains and sky are so incredible. We had to be at the office at 7:15 am to ride to camp. We had 3-5 year olds in the morning and 6-9 year olds in the afternoon. The 3-5 year olds were a surprise as of 3 days ago so we spent the weekend trying simplify our curriculum even more. They are from a gypsy village near the city we are in and most of them are not orphans, just extremely poor and hopeless - but adorable :) There was a lot of laughing, talking, learning, running, laughing, crying (children), frustration, singing, discouragement, hugs, laughing, and smiling :) I am working the craft station this week. It has it's ups and downs just like being a team leader as it's ups and downs. I get to spend time with all the children, but not necessarily build relationships with a certain group of them.

Prayer requests:
1) The interns as we go through this first week of camp. That we will be energized, patient, compassionate, and excited. Pray that we will continue to get along as well as we are because it's wonderful.
2) That I will be continually humbled and in awe of our God and reminded of why I am here.
3) For my dad back in the US. He travels to Atlanta on Tuesday for lab work which will tell us whether the chemo and stem cell transplant worked. The results come in early August.
4) For the copii (children) that their ears, minds, and hearts will be open to the seeds of the Gospel and God's love that we want to plant this week.

Thank you again for your prayers! They are felt.

P.S. Mrs. Jenny, I am working on my chaco tan lines. ;)

Pace.

-Rebekah :)

Dallas, Plano, Fort Worth, Frisco, Allen… i'm somewhere in Texas!

Hi! I’m exhausted so my thoughts are kind of all over the place, sorry! We left Augusta at 3am on Saturday morning to drive to the Atlanta airport. Slept on the way there and that was all my sleep until last night. Our flight left at 7:10a and we got to Dallas around 8:20 (Texas time)! Considering it was my first flight without a family member or a friend sitting next to me – it went really well ☺ I can’t even put into words how at peace I was – totally a God thing.

By 11:30am, all of the interns were together. As I got to know them a little yesterday I could feel how God put this group together. I’m so excited to get to spend the next 7.5 weeks with them serving God and loving the kids!! Yesterday was busy and long but a lot of fun. All that I’ve seen of Texas is really beautiful. Since the land is pretty flat there is plenty of opportunity to see the clear blue skies!

Today started early with more team building and orientation stuff. It was good but there was a lot of new information to soak in at once! Being here is still kind of surreal but I love it. The coolest part of the day was hearing the stories of some of the kids we will be working with this summer – some of which I’ve already met. Their stories are all heart breaking and reminded me of why I first felt called to Romania - to really love these kids and to tell them about God who loves them more than they can imagine and who will never ever abandon them. Incredible. I’m so ready to leave Tuesday!

Thank you all for your prayers. They really are felt and appreciated. More later.

Noapte Buna!