Well... I guess I will start with the last week of camp. For week 6 it worked out that we only had one session of camp a day. We had about 60 kids for 4 hours each morning. It was a fun, tiring, crazy, and emotional week! It was great to get to spend time with kids that I had met in 2007 and to see how they have grown and matured (or haven't!) :) With so many kids everything took longer so we didn't have as much free time as we had in previous weeks so that was a little disappointing. However, it made spending Friday at the pool with them even more special because the whole day was basically free time. Even though the water was freakishly cold, the kids loved it and we got over it so we could spend time with them! Once your legs went numb the water felt fine ;)
On Friday night the Livada kids came to the intern house to worship and fellowship. Some songs we sang in Romanian, others they tried to sing in English. It was a fun and special time to get to spend with them. I love them all so much and am so blessed to know them. Two of the girls accepted Christ personally as their Lord and Savior this summer and it was awesome to be able to talk with them about why they did and how they want to live now.
On Sunday Emi took us (interns) to Busteni, a town about 3.5 hours away from TM. We took a cable car to the top of a mountain and then hiked for about 50 minutes to a cross. The cross is about 30 meters high and is an incredible sight. From the top of the mountain it's on you can see the little towns (when you aren't in the clouds) below and the beauty of God's creation all around. As we hiked back we took pictures and had a lot of fun as a group.
The other interns were so great and it was so amazing to get to spend all summer with them! I'm blessed to be able to call them all my friends now.
Saying goodbye to everyone was far from enjoyable. I have formed relationships with many of the Romanian volunteers, American missionaries, Romanian staff, and Livada kids... so leaving to go home, 7000 miles away, was not exciting. However, my dad reminded me that hard goodbyes are much better than "oh I'm so glad to be getting out of here" ones. I think that God will have me back in Romania again someday, but I'm not sure how soon that will be. If it was all up to me I would be back there next summer in a second, but God may have other plans.
The flights home were good - especially since we got bumped up to "World Traveler Plus" seating on the flight back from London to Dallas! Being back in America has definitely been an adjustment and it continues to be. It amazes me that I was only gone for 7 weeks and my perspectives on so many things have changed.
This summer has been incredible... I honestly cannot put into words how life-changing it has been. But I can say that I will never be able to hear the songs "Alejandro," "Cupid Shuffle," or "Come, now is the time to worship" without being reminded of Romania 2010 :)
I have loved blogging this summer and I plan to do it occasionally through the year. It's a great way for me to write down my thoughts and convictions and be reminded of them, and also to share them with you all and be held accountable!
I cannot thank you enough for you prayers and support! I love you all!!!
