Newsletter no.8      June 2008

June Graduation

On Saturday June 14, in the afternoon we had our graduation for the spring term. This time instead of having the graduation at the school we had it instead at a local bowling alley which was a nice change from the usual school setting. The first half of the graduation we enjoyed an hour of bowling. The second half of the graduation all of the teachers handed out their certificates to the students who successfully passed the English level in their class. It is always so rewarding for the teachers because you know all of the students have worked so hard and have accomplished a big step in their English! 

Illinois Team

Our first summer team was from Illinois State. They were such a great team to work with and it was great to have them come here to start our summer ministry here !

The team’s first full day in Romania was a more of a fun day as we spent half the day in Sighişoara for a day of sightseeing and souvenir shopping and the other half of the day we spent with the students at their graduation. The rest of the week the team spent time loving the orphan children at Life and Light group home and the gypsy children at the day care School. In the afternoons from Monday to Wednesday the team did an afternoon program at the English school. We had a great turn out! Eighteen high school students came out for a fun time of games and conversational topics. This team also had a special treat as they came during the Euro cup games. We all went to the Mureş mall and watched Romania play against The Netherlands. Unfortunately Romania wasn’t so lucky and they did not win. I’m so glad God brought this team to Romania! It was a great week even though it rained a lot.

Michigan Team

Our second summer team was from Michigan State. They were also another great team to work with and it was great to see more guys on this team to minister to the kids!

This team had an adventure even before they arrived in Târgu Mures! They almost missed their flight from Munich but God was watching over them and they got their flight in time. They also got to spend a day in Sighişoara which they enjoyed and afterwards we went to the Weekend Complex for a fun time to play games and sports with students and other kids that came. This team came here to work with the orphan children but it turned out they spent the majority of their time with the gypsy children as we were at a day care centre in the mornings and went to a gypsy village in the afternoons. I truly believe these are the children that God wanted them to minister to this week as these kids don’t get a lot of attention and love. When I saw the team pouring God’s love into these kids as they gave them piggy backs, played with them, sang with them I saw the joy written all over their faces as they smiled and laughed. I am also very thankful that God brought them to Romania! I was so encouraged to see their unified hearts and when I heard their reflections throughout the week I was humbled to see how they grew and what God did in their lives.