"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;

and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!

Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor

on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, your soul will

delight in the richest of fare." Isaiah 55:1-2

Focusing on anything besides knowing God more is like buying expensive plastic food to eat. Like working non-stop for days in a field then finding out you get paid in monopoly money. Anything besides God that I think is satisfying and good... it's fake.

Without Him, I am thirsty, tired, blind, and hopeless. God rescues us from our misery and what we think is self-reliance and gives us the opportunity to have more than we can dream.

He tells us that on our own, we can't get anything right and we can't find anything that compares to Him. And since we can't get to him, he comes to us. He rescues our dead souls and restores them. He knows what is good for us and wants what is good for us - to delight in him, to know him, and to glorify him.

Why would I settle for anything less?

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the

Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and

my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

Even the best plan or idea I can dream of coming up with is nothing compared to

what the Lord can do. Thank goodness, because even I know that if I was left to my own ideas and plans... it would be bad.

Why do I constantly forget that He knows best and wants that?

Why do I fight him for the pen of my life and insist he let me write a page?

What he is writing is always better. Something I have to remind myself of everyday... thankfully He is there to remind me of the beauty of himself and the gospel.

week one - terminat!

Condas and Dorin

First week of camp 2011, done!

It included all of the usual first week of camp craziness and adjustments, but it was a fun week! We worked with 7-11 year old at-risk for abandonment kids from a gypsy village, Apalina, this week. The number of kids on my team differed every day, from 8 to 11 kids. My favorite time of every day was craft time because even the most rambunctious and frustrating kids would calm down and focus on their craft, it was fantastic. It was at that time every day I was reminded by God of why I love doing this and why I need to be doing this... God is passionate about these kids and he is letting me have a part in telling them about his love.

In the last 45 minutes of camp on Friday we have the opportunity to share the gospel and pray over each child individually. This week, God really got a hold of me during that time and I realized that all of the moments throughout the week when I wanted to cry, when I was bitten or hit, when I just wished I could more easily talk to them in their language about why they had to sit out of a game or an activity, and even the times when I didn't feel like chasing them to bring them back after they ran away from the group - seemed so minimal in comparison to the beautiful time I got to spend with the kids praying over them. They were so calm, thankful, and receptive - God is the only one who could have made that possible.

Please pray for the kids with me - for God to put people in their lives, in their village, that will be lights for Him and that will be an example to these children. Gypsies/Roma people are not expected to become much. May they come to truly understand that God created them and loves them. I pray that the little boys and girls will break stereotypes and expectations and be so much more than thieves, prostitutes, and drunks... that they will be followers of the Most High God and seek to glorify his name.

Luke 1:37 - For NOTHING is impossible with God.

burn us up.

They were willing to give up their lives instead of worshiping (or even appear to be worshiping) anyone but the true God.

Everyone in the entire kingdom was bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar's statue. Everyone except 3 guys. S, M, and A (the guys who wouldn't bow down) didn't care about looking weird. But it gets better... if you didn't bow down to the statue the king said you would be thrown in the furnace. Yeah, burned alive. So they were thrown in the fire for not bowing down... but they lived. Their clothes weren't even burnt. Read Daniel 3 again, even if you've read it 83 times.

Had I been there... would I have refused to bow down to the idol even though everyone around me was doing it, whether they thought it was right or not?

To bow down or be burned alive, would I still have not bowed?

I would like to say I would have stood tall... but really?

I mean... they could have bowed and asked God for forgiveness later, right?

But how awful would that be?

To not make a stand for the sovereign, awesome, just, and loving God who chose to forgive me and save me?

Incredible - he was, is, and is to come. For no other god has the power to save like our God.

How many idols am I bowing down to every day?

They may not seem as big as a huge statue in the town center, but an idol is anything (myself, recognition, popularity, stuff, etc...) that I'm adoring and seeking more the God himself and his glory. So standing tall may not mean standing up in front of a crowd of thousands and being the odd one. Standing tall may be obeying what Christ said when he told us to stop seeking things for ourselves and seek Him alone. Luke 9:23. (which is way easier said than done, so thankfully we aren't expected to do that all by ourselves).

It's not about me and my comfort zone. It's all about God. May knowing him better and sharing his word be my greatest desire far above all the things that don't matter. That's what I'm here for. It's what I was created for.

Just some thoughts...

We are into our first week of camp of the summer and it is CRAZY. But fantastic! Details about the kids, camp, etc. coming later!

ECHIPA VERDE!

I'm here!

These verses describe my prayers for this summer:

Psalm 115:1 "Not to us, O Lord, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness."

Psalm 119:33-37 "Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all of my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word."

Well, the 7 other interns and I arrived in Romania on Sunday night after about 30 hours of traveling that included electrical difficulties, missed flights, extra flights, and long layovers. However, God is good and it was in the end a smooth trip. On our first day we had some more orientation with the staff here, went to clean and set up the land and buildings that we will be using on a lot of Fridays with the kids, and then went on a group trip with Alina to the grocery store. Picture it - 7 Americans, a British girl (the 8th intern!) walking with one buggy and shopping in a crowded grocery store :) When we got home, Heather and I made spaghetti for everyone and learned as it somewhat fell apart in our mouths that the type of pasta you buy here matters! ha. I am being reminded constantly of why I love this place, the kids (some of which we finally got to see today!), and the encouraging community that the intern “family” provides. There is a bird living in the attic directly above mine and Samantha’s room, he loves to dance at night apparently and we have affectionately named him Archibald. I got my suitcase today! I had never hugged a suitcase before today, but there is a first time for everything. Also, we got to spend time at the baby hospital loving on precious, precious babies and toddlers who are desperate for affection – a beautiful (yet sad) second day back in Romania. We also got to visit with the LOC kids! They have grown so much and it was so great to be able to catch up with them. I shouldn’t say that I’m tired yet, because camp has not even started… but the jet lag is making us all tired.

Seeing the babies, kids, and meeting with the students that will be our translators all summer made for an extremely busy day, yet so many opportunities to get more excited about all that God is going to do this summer in so many areas.

CAN'T WAIT to hug this boy... what an incredible picture of God's beauty they all are.

2 Corinthians 5: 13-15

"If we are 'out of our mind,' as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

Just a verse that stuck out to me while I was reading yesterday. Mhmm :) I believe God has something huge for this summer. Something new, incredible, and refreshing in store. I am so thankful for my Savior - he doesn't need me to carry out his work, but he loves me, has a desire to know me, and allows me to serve him and have a part of working on his masterpiece of which I can only see a tiny speck right now.

Things here in Dallas are great, we all fly to Romania on Saturday (except for the eighth intern, Jen, who is in/from England. She's meeting us there!) It is clear that God has worked in the craziest, yet most beautiful and unique ways to bring all 8 of us to be on this team.

Please be praying for us as we continue to prep and be oriented for the summer, it can be information overload and it isn't hard to get consumed by tasks and lose sight of our main purpose: to further Christ's kingdom and the children and teenagers we are ministering to.

For our intern team - Samantha, Julia, Heather, Jen, Austin, Justin, Andrew and I, that we will have unity and will continue to be an encouragement to one another.

For the Livada (Fundatia LOC) staff and volunteers in the US and in Romania preparing for camp this summer - that they will continue to seek and trust the Lord about every detail.

For the hearts of over 500 kids we will see this summer to be loved and fed, spiritually and emotionally. May they truly see and taste the love of God.

For me to constantly seek, and want to seek, God's glory above my own and will be a servant - to the kids and to everyone I come into contact with.

Also, that I (and all of the interns) will make time to spend alone with our Savior and be refreshed.

Vedem în curând, România!