How It All Began

Here we are, 13 years in Kingsland and ready for a change.  Seems that every 10 years or so we need to make a move.  Don’t know what initiates that need, but when it comes, it comes hard.  So, the next question is: where do we go from here?  The answer: Romania.

In October 2010, I had the opportunity to take my first mission trip.  Together with 6 other individuals, we traveled to Romania to hold a VBS with the gypsy children in Tarnaveni.  At the end of the week, we placed new socks and shoes on the feet of these precious kids.  This is Raul, and he was the first one who I had the privilege of giving a new pair of shoes.  It was such a memorable time!  When I returned from this trip, I told Dennis that I felt we should move to Romania, as there was a lot of work to do.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t convinced.

      July 2011 gave both of us the opportunity to go on another trip to Romania.  This trip was to continue construction work on Point of Hope – a preschool for the gypsy children that we served earlier.  It was during this trip that God spoke to Dennis.  So the decision was made that we’d go serve.  When?  After much thought, and with input from our Romanian overseers, the answer is June 21, 2012.  Yes, this summer!  We’ll leave on another mission trip with the folks we’ve traveled with before, but this time we won’t be returning to the states.  Dennis and I have made a 2 year commitment to Buckner Romania that we will stay and continue working with them as advocates.  So what will we be doing?  

      1.Dennis will be working on the Point of Hope center.  There are currently 4 more classroom that need to be totally remodeled.  As you can see from this picture, the rooms have been depleted of all valuable materials.  New wiring, windows, walls, floors, ceilings, lighting and furnishings must be installed.  This process has been completed by the mission team volunteers in the past.  Hopefully, we will be able to speed up the process by having Dennis on the ground.  He will be working with Gelu, the handyman for the center.  When the rooms are complete, they will look similar to this one.  With each completed room, Point of Hope will be able to add12-15 additional children.  Why is this important?  The Roma (gypsy) people are so looked down upon; many think of them as not much better than dogs.  When the children start regular school, they are SO far behind that the majority drop out in 1^st or 2^nd grade.  Illiteracy and unemployment for the Roma people ranks between 95-98%.  With the presence of Point of Hope, we now have children in the regular schools who are surpassing their Romanian counterparts.  Romanian teachers are wanting more POH students in their classrooms.  

      2. Eight girls have been taken from a life in an orphanage, to live in a group home.  There they have a family environment, with rules, chores and expectations.  These girls are flourishing, but still require a mentor to help them with school work.  Because they are behind academically, I will be working with the girls part time.  This will also include me teaching them the English language.

      3.    Dacian (our Romanian boss) is working with the Romanian government to get me into the local school.  We hope to be able to teach English in the schools, as well as some adult classes for those who want to learn.

      4.   There is also a program for the sponsorship of the children at POH.  While this has great benefits, it also has some needs – the biggest is more information about the children getting to their sponsors.  Dennis and I will be working on putting together short videos on each child, as well as updated information on their wants/needs.  Basically, our goal is to get the sponsored children in front of their sponsors.  We will also become the “feet on the ground” for sponsors, by purchasing items that the children need and getting it to them – ie. Birthday presents, Christmas gifts, care packages, etc.  

      5.     Build relationships with the parents of the Point of Hope children, as well as the local church and community.

 

      6.  We will work with Buckner Romania and all mission trip members while in the country.  Not sure what that will look like right now, but will be finding out very soon.

      7.      Assist Buckner Romania in whatever they need us to do.