The Last day but, easily the best!!

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Wednesday, January 5, 2005

Ten pairs of hopeful eyes waited quietly in the remarkably pleasant coolness (for mid-winter) of the Romanian city. Each one of them so full of joy, though we each knew that behind that joy lay a unique painful story. They were the children of the orphanage that we had heard so much about- the House of Hope. Today, the fifth of January (or Ianuarie, as the Romanians would have it) of 2005, the team traveled to Oradea for a life-changing experience, and Marios and Alina came with us. From a trip to the piata (marketplace) in that town, a brand new way of looking at a McDonald’s meal, and a heart-wrenching tale of tiny tots, we will never be quite the same.
Besides doing a bit more souvenir shopping (or fake name-brand shopping, for some), the goal was to take the children from the House of Hope with us through the marketplace and get them the things they picked out. Estera, Claudiu’s wife, both who are very close to Tony in his ministry, brought them the fifteen kilometers to where we were. The age range of the children that joined us was from Sergiu, who will be six soon, to Dorina, who is seventeen. Most of them spoke English quite well, and pretty much all of them at least understood us. They were such a help- they translated for us when we needed it. But the most exciting part was being able to bless the kids by getting them things that they looked at.
Amy had the opportunity to spend the morning with Piki, a cute, tiny ten year-old with very black hair and dark eyes- the stereotype of a Gypsy girl. Tony told Amy that Piki was reserved and hard to get to open up, and that they’d had some problems with her misbehaving. A lot of these kids have backgrounds that would make you shudder, so it was not unusual, but still a formidable task. Piki was determined to find a pair of jeans, and Amy and she searched all through the marketplace to no avail. Estera said that she also needed boots, so Piki and Amy picked out a pair of cute brown boots for her. Still, she wanted jeans. None of them seemed to fit her petite frame. Finally, after much ado, Piki and Amy found an entire jean outfit for Piki (jacket and pants) with pink Barbie embroidery, and it was just her size, and barely more expensive than just the jeans would have been. She would look so cute in her brand new outfit, shoes and all.
After a couple of hours of shopping, we set off for Mickey D’s. I do not think any of us could have expected it, but it was like a brand new experience. All the children of the House of Hope sat among us, and although they’d had McDonald’s brought to them before, none of them had ever actually been to one. Little Sergiu ate an entire Big Mac and fries! We sat and learned all of their names, their ages, what they wanted to be when they grow up, etc. Not only were they communicating with us in English, but they also told me that they could speak Hungarian. These children, who were either abandoned or abused (or both), have so much to offer, and so much of it is only because of the hope they find in their Home and by the amazing Grace of God. How interesting it is that our fate seems to depend so much on a geographical accident, but the Sovereignty and Grace of our Father surpasses that notion to the point of His perfect Will.
All the kids ate well, as did we, and then we set off to see their home. They moved to new buildings four years ago, and the land and buildings immediately depict the Hope in their name. We walked into the first building, where the kids that had been with us live. Twelve of them live there, with a mother and father who love them dearly and whom they love as parents. They sang songs they learned at home and at camp in Romanian for us, and then a song about walking with Jesus in English. The older kids go to camp every summer and help Tony as camp leaders, and the younger ones get to have a good time.
As we sat around arm-wrestling with the kids and watching them try on the new clothes they had gotten from us, Estera told us a bit about how the home works. The kids stay at the home until they are eighteen, at which point they can choose to leave or stay. House of Hope will help them go to the University if they so choose, or they will attempt to ease them into regular life by helping them find a job, a place to live, and so on. House of Hope will never force them to leave, though, and many times the jobs they look for are near the House.
After checking out their spotless rooms, we moved on to the second house. As soon as we walked in, we knew we were in for a treat. A gang of two year-olds made their way to the couch and Tony began to hand out little packages of Skittles to the little guys. Actually, there were eight in all, but all but one happened to be girls. Florin, the only boy, cannot understand why he is different than all the people he is around constantly. He is a cutie, and still very much a boy, even though he has to put up with so many women- pray for him. Didi (Diana) was a bit skeptical of me as I sat down next to her and took the package away to open it. The others looked equally hesitant, but once they realized I was making it possible to actually eat the candy, they willingly handed their bags over.
We heard a little bit about how Romanian law has changed to make it so very difficult for these children to be adopted. First of all, infant adoptions are not allowed- the children must be at least two. All but two have all their papers ready and families in the U.S. waiting for them, but the new laws came into effect on January 1, 2005. The new law says that these children cannot be adopted by American families until their national resources have been exhausted- that is, until it is certain that they won’t be adopted by a Romanian family. House of Hope cannot know how the laws are going to be defined or executed, so for now, they must wait. All of these children are Gypsies, so it will be very hard for them to be adopted domestically. To us, though, it didn’t make a difference that they were Gypsies, and we tickled and loved on those kids until the moment we left. Pray that House of Hope can easily research and discover what needs to be done so that these beautiful kids can be with the good families that long for them in the U.S.
With even a little more hesitation, we departed from the adorable, Skittle-stained kiddos. As soon as we entered the next house, the hesitation disappeared. It was the baby house. Tiny babies- even three month-old twins- lie in their cribs as we walked through the rooms, silently wishing we could wake them so that we could hold them. With all the movement in the rooms, none of them stayed asleep for long, and soon, all the babies were in our arms. I held Brighita (Bridgett), whose mom had a mental illness and dad was an epileptic. They could not know for sure if little Brighita had any problems yet, but because of her background and the required paperwork, they did not know if she would ever find someone who would adopt her. Cindy bonded with the tiny twins who had recently come to the House, as they are about the age of Judah, and did not leave the house before crying a bit.
We said thank you to Estera for all of her help, gave hugs and kisses to the kids, and were left with the whole trip back to Simleu to ponder what we had just experienced. All of us, undoubtedly, were deeply touched, and some of us didn’t manage to contain the tears. Still, the beauty of today was that there is, indeed, hope. Remember to praise God today for His unending Mercy and for His eternal Love, and know, with perfect certainty, that we have Hope in Jesus.

Thanks to Bekah for doing today's journal.

Flight Arrival Times:

Flight from Chicago arrives in Orlando at 9:45 p.m. on Friday, January 7. United 1536.
Shaw, Reeves, Verdugo, Bryant, Smith, Denmark, Perdue, McLendon

Flight from Washington-Dulles arrives in Orlando 7:57 p.m. on Friday, January 7. United 1565
Collicco, Gibbs, Newby

Crum - 3:55 p.m. from Frankfurt, Germany. Luftansa 418

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Photos

Kids love McDonalds
These are some of the kids that we took to McDonalds in Oradia, Romania.

Piki and Amy
This is me and the girl that I got to spoil.

We all fell in love
How could you not fall in love with this face? (The baby's of course!!)

Esteria and Friend
This is Esteria. She is the director of the House of Hope.

The Twins
These were two 4 month old twin boys that came to the House of Hope. They were very sick when they arrived. They are still recovering but, they are doing much better.

Becky and Friend
This is Becky and her new friend. She stayed on her lap the entire time we were there!

Comments

[anonymous]

What A Day
Wow, the thought of those little toddlers and babies made me sad to know you had to leave them behind. I know several of you would like to have smuggled them out to a better way of life. What an experience you had. We look forward to your return home and pictures and to listen to you share your stories. Have a safe return journey. Love and miss you. Hug the Shaw kids and Tarl for us. Love mom - Bev Shaw

[anonymous]

Cool Way to end a Trip!
Miss you guys! Awesome trip to the orphanage. Did you give them all the candy you guys had? Have a safe trip. We'll see you guys soon. Some sooner than others. =D - Eunice