THANK YOU!!!

I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has been keeping Leah and I in your prayers during our time in Moldova! Your support means so much to me and I couldn't have done it without you! As you supported me, you were supporting these girls and children in Moldova!

Thank you for reading my blog! I hope you have enjoyed it! I love you all!

until my next adventure....GOD BLESS!!!!!!

We're Home!

So we left at 5am from Chisinau, had a 6 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. Had an hour and a half to get through customs and recheck our luggage in DC, but ran out of time so we missed our flight. Booked a flight to Charlotte then HSV instead of straight to HSV. Ran to the gate just in time, but they gave us the wrong tickets so we had to miss that flight, came back to the customer service, they sent us to the international customer service, who finally got us the right tickets to make it back to the last flight to Charlotte. Getting to the gate, the attendant knew our names by then, he said since we switched airlines we had to go to baggage claim then come back through security where we got patted down yet again, ran back to the gate just as everyone had just boarded, but our friend promised he would not leave without us, lol! Then getting into Charlotte we had 3o min till the last flight to hsv, barely made that and finally made it home at 11pm! We were supposed to be there bout 6 hours earlier, oh well. Our luggage of coarse did not come in until Friday, lol. Anyway lets just say we were more than ready for bed when we got home!!!

Our last few days

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Our last day in Moldova :(

May 15th Wednesday

We missed the bus the night before so we went to Stella's House and finished some visa's so the girls can come to the States this summer!

Left early Wednesday morning from Stella's House to catch a bus back to our apt, where we packed and cleaned. We met up with Nina and took her to get her nails done as a goodbye present. Anitol took us back to our apartment to pick up our luggage and say our goodbye's to Sara and Shauna.

Came back to the house where we hung out with the girls. We did our last Bible study with them. Tying into the Bible study I did on Love, I spoke about how we must love others with the same love as God loves us, and love others as we love ourselves. If we don't love ourselves we can't really love others! I spoke about how God made them exactly how He wanted them to be, from looks, to giftings and talents, to callings. All of them are different, all of them are made perfect in His image, etc. Then spoke about the different talents God's given to them is for a reason, they are their weapons from God. They must use them and sharpen them instead of letting them sit on the shelf. When the battle comes they will have the victory because God lives inside of them! Then spoke about how they are not a burden or a mistake, and showed them where it says in the bible that before they were born God knew the plans of their life. And from there told them not to worry about their future and where they will end up, God has already proven Himself faithful in their lives and will continue to. Only He knows the full picture and it's up to us to trust Him and let Him lead us.

Leah then had a game she did with the girls. We tapped pieces of paper to their backs with the names of all the girls, they had to ask the other girls different questions about the person who's name was on their back and when they guessed right we had them write down three things they liked about that girl and give it to them.

After the game Leah and I passed out the little boxes we had been painting the past week. Each one was unique, just like the girls, with different sparkely designs and colors, etc. Inside was a note of love and encouragement to them as well as a "diamond". I told the girls we put the diamond in their boxes as a symbol of how precious and valuable they are! Just like a diamond with different cuts and facets, each one of them reflects a different part of God and told them how radiant they are!!!! Dymy and Costanza had drawn me pictures while I was there so I drew some for them as well along with some encouraging words and gave it to them that night.

We had a delicious dinner, and hung out with the girls until it was time to leave. Our flight was at 5:00am the next morning so we had to leave the house at 3:30am. We stayed up all night, a few of the girls staying up with us. Some went to bed and set their alarms for 3 to say goodbye and Costanza came to the airport with us! and all of these girls had school in the morning! It was so hard to say goodbye, we were definately fighting back tears! I'm so attached to these amazing young ladies! But I am excited cause it won't be long till I see them this summer! yay!!!!!!

May 11th-13th

May 11th, Sunday

We went to church for the last time! The message was so good! Leah and I kept giving eachother looks. Everything he was speaking on was like a combination of all the Bible studies we've done while here! It was such confirmation from God that we have been teaching on the right subjects. God is so amazing!!!



After church we walked to McDonald's and it started raining! We ate outside and tried to avoid getting wet! It was so much fun though!

After lunch we went to watch the Moldovan Aerobics Competetion, Natalie was a judge for it and had helped train her school's team. There were a bunch of little kids doing their team routines, so adorable!


That night the girls were busy doing homework, they went back to school Monday after their three day weekend. Most of the girls have about 2 weeks left of school and are busy with exams. I helped Natalie with her English homework: grammar exercises, a short story and writing two essays. I gave her some tips on essay writting which she said helped her out alot when she had an exam on Monday where she had to write another english essay.

Leah's World...so Leah and I have been sleeping in one of the girl's rooms in bunks. Me in the bottom bunk and Leah in the top bunk. That morning when she was getting out of bed, she shifted the bed somehow and the wood slabs supporting her mattress slid out of place and it came down on me with her clinging to the side railing, lol! Omg it was so funny! Nothing broken(not like the sink incedent, lol) and we easily put it back together, haha!


May 12th, Monday

Leah and I had quite an adventure that morning going to the art market. It was so much fun though! I could poke around there all day long! We finished buying all our souvaniers to take home with us.

Went to the orphanage in Straseni, where there are 400 kids. That is the place where about a year ago Phillip Cameron Ministries were able to put all new windows on the many buildings there! I've seen video on this so it was great being able to see it in person.

We went with Natalie, Dasha, and Nadea(all from that orphanage) and Irena came with us as our translator, she is very good! The girls showed us their old rooms, classrooms, met some of their old teachers, etc. The 3 girls met with all the older girls, 9th graders, and talked about Stella's House, how great it is and about how important it is to figure out what profession you want to do and make good grades to get into college.

We all went outside where Leah and I broke out the beads and friendship bracelets, etc. It went form a few girls to a ton of girls and boys all crowded around us making necklaces and bracelets, so much fun!!!!

They cranked up the music outside so Leah, Irena, my new friend Veronica and I started doing the electric slide. All the kids gathered around and we taught a few of them. Some of the older boys were being goofy and knew a few english words so were trying to flirt and impress us, lol. I then played in a big circle of volleyball with the older kids, it was good to play again. Then played duck duck goose and down by the bay with some of the younger ones before we had to leave.

We only had a few hours to be there but in that small amount of time I fell in love with those kids. I wished we could have had more opportunities to go there, but I will be back! So that was a really fun day!!! Unfortunately Leah's camera died while there so we only have a few pictures. My camera broke a few weeks ago, ugh. oh well! So on our drive back Anitol dropped us off at the apartment, made dinner, played some nerts with sara and shauna, painted some more(Leah and I are doing something special for the girls Wednesday night before we leave) and went to bed, yay!

May 13th, Tuesday

Today Leah and I slept in a bit exchanged some money and came to the house. The water heater at the apt went out last night and although it's pretty warm outside, our apt is very cold. Which I like, but not good for an ice cold shower. So I now know what it's like to boil water and take a "shower" that way, lol.

Tonight all of the girls are finally back from their vacations and the weekend so we're taking them to McDonald's yet again, they really love it though, and bowling. Last time we went bowling it was only a few of the girls.

Anyhoo hope all is well in the states! Leah and I head home the 15th, early Thursday morning here and will be arriving in the states Thursday bout 5:30pm. I really don't want to leave Moldova yet, but at the same time I'm excited to get back home to masters and then graduation, wow! That's so wierd to say! But the girls will be in Al this summer so I will definately see them and I know Leah and I WILL be coming back!!!! I'll write more later

Cupcuii Orphanage- last visit

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May 9th-10th

May 9th

We went to the Cupcuii orphanage for the last time. :*( It was a blast though! We were there for 6 hours but the time really flew by! We didn't get to go as much as we anticipated so we crammed all of our crafts into one day.

First we started with a big game of Duck Duck Goose! After the game we got all of the coloring books and stickers out and colored for almost an hour! It was so fun watching them compare stickers and colors! My favorite one there, Sasha, was looking through one book and showing off his english skills as he pointed and said what things were, he was pretty good! The first time we came I helped him with his english as well, but for the most part, the kids didn't speak or understand english.

After coloring we moved to the balloon animals!!!! Leah taught me, I think the balloons were the biggest hit of the day; a teacher there even asked for a sword! One little girl, Silvia, collected dogs and swords in every color. After a while they all caught on and began taking the pump and making their own dogs and swords! Lets just say we went with close to 500 balloons and left with maybe 50! lol

Face painting was interesting; not quite what we anticipated! All the boys wanted mustaches, gotees, side-burns, and glasses! We had so many little suave boys in the room. The girls loved the ladybugs and polka-dot hearts! It wasn't long before they started showing-up with their own brushes to paint their own faces!

The beads and bracelets were also a big hit. They probably could have made beaded crosses all day long! They were all teaching eachother their little tricks and designs; checking each other's work! I made a few cross necklaces to give away to my special girls, and a couple of hemp bracelets for my little boyfriends, Sasha and Vadeem ;)

Leaving that day was so hard! Yes, I definately will come back but knowing I'll never see some of those kids again broke my heart! I had to hold back tears! I would take all of those kids home with me if I could! We then took a bus back home, had dinner, then a bible study.

We had a time of worship, Leah and I shared some verses on worship, presenting yourself as a living sacrifice, expressing your worship, to praise God when things are going great and when they aren't, etc. We then went back into worship, encouraging the girls to simply sit and praise God for what He's done in their lives. God's presence was there, it was amazing! And the girls absolutley loved it!!! :)We then watched a movie and hit the hay, lol.

The past few days of doing bible studies and drama practices have been amazing. The girls can't wait for the next Bible study! They have learned all of our worship songs and love singing along with them! Their hunger is so evident! I can't believe we leave the 15th! This month has gone by so fast! I really wish I could stay here longer! I've grown so attached to these precious beautiful amazing young women and I wish they could all come home with me! I can't wait till they are here for the summer though, I'm definately gonna be making a point to see my sweeties!

May 10th

Caught up on some sleep, and have been hanging out with the girls, we're bout to have lunch. We're staying at the house again all weekend while Anitol and Nina are in Cupcuii with Nina's Father, who has not been doing so well. Keep him in your prayers! I love you all and hope you are doing amazing in the states! Please leave comments or emails, I want to know how you're doing!

May 6th-8th

May 6th

We hung out with the girls, played card games, etc. Leah did a Bible study basically on righteousness, it was really good. Dinner, Anitol drove us home (it was too late for the buses) came back to the apartment and played nerts with Shauna and Sara.

I think I've been around Leah too much, her ways are rubbing off on me, lol. I tripped a few times that day and when Anitol was taking us home I tried opening the back door to the van to put my bags in there and well, I ripped half the handle and surrounding plastic off! Don't underestimate twiggy muscles, lol!...thanks Leah

May 7th

Got up early to go to Stella's House 2. We scraped plaster off and cleaned the windows on all 3 floors, we were there bout 6 hours. Came to the house, I did a Bible study on 1 Cor. 13, broke down the chapter and basically told them about God's love and how we are to show the same love to everyone. Had dinner, delicious kidney stroganoff, and caught the bus home just in time.

Meanwhile in Leah's world...well we were really tired that day and a little loopy so we were cracking up about nothing all day long! We barely make the bus back to our apartment, and while on that bus Leah begins to cough a little and starts wheezing! Hence, her new nickname, wheezer. Haha, the man in front of her kept glancing back, she was trying to be quiet but couldn't and we just started cracking up even more! In the midst of her laughing she gets her inhaler out and instead of breathing in blows out, lol! Anyhoo we were really loopy and the whole bus I'm sure thought we were drunk. But it was hilarious!!!

May 8th

Ran some errands, exchanged money, came to the house a little later. Played spoons with the girls, it was a good sized group so it was a blast! The girls love that game. Snarfed down a very yummy dinner to make our bus in time.

That morning coming to stella's house Leah and I stand up as our stop is aproaching, there's a man in between us who looked like he was going to get off too, so Leah gets out, the man goes for the door and closes it! I try to stop him and get by and say opritz iech verog (my stop please, not spelled right) and he won't let me, I tap the bus driver and say it again and he gives me a mean look and puts on the gas, so a few blocks later when the man has to get out i get out and have to walk back to Leah, ugh.

Then that night we have another great experience on the bus back to our apartment, it's very packed which is not uncommon, people sitting in all 12 seats then about 10 or so more people standing up in the small bus. So our stop is getting closer, I get up with Leah a few seats behind me, I'm trying to fight through the crowd of about 5 big men to get to the door, I say excuse me in Romanian, scuzatsima(not spelled right), they look at me and won't let me pass, then I feel the hand of the man right in front of me in my purse! I grabbed it and threw it out of my bag, gave him an evil look and after telling Leah to watch her stuff, pushed him out of the way! I was so ticked! All those men smirking as they weren't letting us pass where all in on it! Ugh!!! Then they close up on Leah and she has to force her way through them as they're laughing and making fun of us, AHHH! anyway, we got to our stop and they didn't get a hold of anything, thank you Jesus! So yeah, that was a great experience ;)

May 3rd-5th

May 3rd, Saturday

Went to the market again with Costanza and Demi, walked around town, got icecream, had fun. Came home, dinner and movies. The girls did "In Return" for the Cameron's over skype. After the human video was done the girls gathered around the computer, Irena told them about when they were in the orphanage they prayed for a family who would love them and God gave them to the girls, and in unison the girls said we love you mom and dad. The girls did amazing and had their Dad in tears and very proud. He absolutely loved it and wants Leah and I to teach the girls more so when he takes them to America this summer to promote Stella's House 2, the girls will do the human videos in many different church's. Wow, what an honor, it's exciting!

May 4th, Sunday

Went to church where we had real wine for communion, woohoo ;) , then to McDonald's, Leah and I went home to get more clothes for the next few days, came back to the house, had worship and prayer and a bible study with the girls that were there (only 4, the rest are still with relatives for Easter Vacation). Played the song "Now Behold the Lamb" told them this would be the next human video we teach them, and did the Bible study on the lamb, the passover, the plague, etc in the Bible and told them what this song is all about. Leah and I showed them the human video and the girls are excited to learn it, they loved it!!!

The girls cooked dinner, and then had jello with pinapple. We were all in goofy moods and were cracking up till our abs hurt, the jello being our main source of entertainment, lol. We then stayed up till the wee hours of the morning watching movies since it was the last night they could stay up late before vacation ended. They go back to school Tuesday. We had a blast though!

May 5th, Monday

We slept in today and have just been chilling, after dinner we're gonna teach the girls (6 of them now) Now Behold the Lamb and have some prayer and worship time. write more later! love you guys!!!

***DOUBLE CLICK ON THE BIG PICTURES TO VIEW ALBUMS ...I just posted 3 albums from the past week***

*btw we are not going to Cupcui this weekend after all, it rained so we'll go next weekend instead

Market

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Cupcui Orphanage April 29th

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week at Serata

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Fun day!!!!

May 2nd, Friday


So today Nina took us to the huge market in Chisinau. Wow, they have so much stuff you can get lost there!!! It was so much fun though! They've got everything you can think of, from shoes and clothes to vegetables and pig heads! Yep, hanging pig heads along with probably any other animal or part of an animal you can think of, oh and what a lovely smell that was!!!

Came back to the house and we took all the girls that are here, some are still staying with relatives for the Easter vacation, bowling and to McDonalds. Anatol and Nina and their kids came as well and we all had a blast! I was proudly showing off my granny bowl, but that wasn't good enough for Costanza, so after some coaching from her, I did a little better maybe, lol. Ok so I'm horrible at bowling but it was still fun! Then took them to McDonald's for dinner and Icecream on the way home

Racing to catch the bus, we made it tonight, we ran into a guy that speaks English very well. And let's just say the guys here are very frank in conversation, it wasn't but a few seconds and he was asking if we had boyfriends, ah!!!!!!! lol


Then came home and played some nerts, a very fun card game, with Sara and Shauna.


So today in Leah's world, while walking up the stairs to our apartment, she trips, skinning her toe, causing blood and a good sized piece of her nail to come off, sorry Leah, but yes, it's funny!!!!


Anyhoo we are leaving for Serata again tomorrow to go back to play with the kids in the Cupcui orphanage. We'll be back Tuesday. write more then! :)

5 Days at Sarata

April 24th, Thursday

Went to an Easter play at church, had tea and cookies afterward, goofed off when we got home dancing and singing




Tomorrow we are going to Sarata, a village not too far from Cupcui. We will be staying there around 5 days. The girls are SO excited. The house that we are going to stay in is the house Philip Cameron and his family first started taking the girls to before Stella's House. They say they love the house because it brings back memories.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MAY 1st, Tuesday

Hey! We're back! We had so much fun in the little village of Sarata Noua! It's so beautiful and peaceful out there, a small country village basically, very sweet neighbors, little village stores, goats, chickens, roosters and turkeys roaming the streets, horse and buggies...I loved it!!!!!! It was refreshing!!!!!!!!! I almost feel like I'm on vacation here! lol


April 25th, Friday

The first night was pretty uneventful, we unloaded, roamed around, and watched a movie

April 26th, Saturday

The fun began when Nina came to visit and brought fresh fish for lunch and might I add they were still alive as the girls started cleaning them! ahhhhhhh! lol

After lunch we walked to the Magazine (the store) to get icecream. And leisurely walked around taking pictures and goofing off.

Then we had some good old girlie fun doing french manicures, pedicures, messages, hair and makeup and back to back girlie movies...fun fun fun

April 27th Sunday

Easter in Moldova, another day of fun. We made friendship bracelets and necklaces and taught the girls a human video, In Return. They picked it up very quickly and loved it! We sat down with them and explained the meaning of the song. After Leah and I shared our personal testimony of a time when we gave something to God and He gave us so much more in return, we had the girls share as well. Their stories were similar as they shared through their tears about being in the orphanage when they were young and praying for a family to love them. And how God answered their prayers with not just any family, but the Cameron's, who all 13 of the girls call mom and dad and love dearly!

Later that night we had a Bible study and wow, God completely showed up! We planned on playing a few worship songs on my laptop but turned into many songs as God's presence fell and we were all in tears! God gave Leah and I words to pray over the girls as they were all broken before Him. It was such an amazing time! God is so good! After prayer and worship we read the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection in remembrance of the reason for Easter. We will never forget that night!...end of coarse ended the night with another movie

April 28th, Monday

Took a walk, Played games, had a traditional Moldovan lunch at the neighbors house. It was very good food, but some was very interesting! Lol. One of their special dishes here is to cook chicken and cover it in gellatin. Imagine jello that vaguely tastes like gravy, mostly without a flavor, covering your room-temperature chicken. It doesn't taste bad necessarily... just very different. The lady's husband was one of the funniest people Leah and I have ever met!
We all cuddled on the couch to watch yet another movie. lol

April 29th, Tuesday

This was an especially fun day. We all went to the Cupcuii Orphanage! Only 10 of the children were there. All the children, except for the kindergardeners, are sent to other people's houses to stay for a week, to celebrate the Easter holiday. All but 2 of the kids were in kindergarden so we went to visit them and give them candy after their nap.

At five, we all walked back to the orphanage and changed all the kids out of their school clothes and then we headed downstairs to an open area where we taught them the hit new game of "Duck Duck Goose!!!!" Of course we said all the words in romanian; you would think as many times as I said those words I would remember them! Lol!!!! Afterwards, somehow Leah and I became horses hawling kids on our backs all over the place. Lol!!!!! We LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!

After dinner had another Bible study and worship with the girls, we taught them about Esther, some of them had never heard of her! It went great and the girls loved hearing her story, we tried to put a twist on it and tell it as if they were Esther, etc. Twas good

April 30 MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! :)

I had a nice peaceful morning, opened the cards my family sent with me, thank you mom dad karen and grandparents :), went home and then had a dinner at stella's 1 with a "surprise" birthday cake to celebrate my 21st birthday!!!!! The cake wasn't so much a surprise, because my new buddy, Vladuts (Nina's youngest son), made sure I knew they had just bought me a cake, lol!!! It's ok though, I absolutely love that boy!!!!! So yes, I had a nice birthday!!!!
May 1st, Thursday

slept in, washed clothes, came to the house, went to a huge market but it was closing early as they are still celebrating Easter, lol. We're going back tomorrow though. Arriving home it started to rain but Vladuts wanted to play football(soccer for the states) so we played in the rain for a while :) Had dinner, noodles in milk pretty much, I liked it alot!

Then Leah and I realized it was 8:50 and the bus's last rounds are at 9pm so we booked it to the bus stop, and missed the bus!:( oh well...I'm sure we were a sight to see as we were trying to walk back in the dark, both of us about to fall on our faces while slipping in the mud (it rained earlier), Leah tripping on the flat asphalt, go figure, hurting her ankle, me stepping into a huge puddle making a splash and both of us laughing and about to pee in our pants! lol, yeah, we're crazy!

So when we finally made it back to stella's house alive ;) we had a dance party with the girls, teaching them swing, the electric slide, and the cha cha slide, it was so fun!!!!

Well that's all for tonight! hope everyone is well! I can't believe I'll be home in 2 weeks! I really wish I could stay here longer, I'm really growing attached to these amazing young ladies!!!!!!


*Everyone please be praying for Raisa!!!!! She caught a virus so moved her to another room. To my unerstanding she is by herself in that room now. No one is allowed to see her. She is a fighter, and we are believing that she will soon walk in complete health and wholeness, as a testimony of how great and powerful our God is!!!!!!! By His stripes Raisa is healed!!!!!!The hospital here is not very modern. Kids here with TB walk around with thin masks and talk to other people in the hospital who are in the recovering process of TB. Five girls were staying in Raisa's room. There is not every good ventilation either.