Camp week 3!

Hey everybody! I'm very sorry I missed a week of posting. I didn't have access to any pictures from week 3 so I just decided to wait until I did. :) So I have pictures for you, yay!

Week 3 of camp we worked with orphanage kids from a city called Constanta, which is located at the coast of the Black Sea. I've seen these kids at camp for the third year now, and I've also gotten to know the YWAM and PRR missionaries who work with them.

My jobs at camp were pretty much the same as week 2: meal prep, leading songs, activity station leader, etc. I also got to be a team leader for the obstacle course this week, and my team won...definitely a highlight. Here come some pictures!

My station one day: horseshoes.

Ball relay races!

Slip n slide...I did not actively participate that week, but you can see me on the right monitoring haha. :)

Florin and I with our teams for the obstacle course!

Roasting marshmallows on the last night.

The whole crew of week 3!

This is just a random pretty picture of the field surrounding camp that I took yesterday :)

Hopefully I will have another post for you next weekend on week 4 (last week) when I get pictures! Just know that week 4 went super great and I can't wait to tell you all about it next time. :)

Praises:

-Week 3 &4 of camp went really well and everyone got along and had a great time and learned a lot about Jesus.

Requests:

-Week 5 of camp is day camp (little kids from a nearby village who don't stay overnight). Pray that it would go smoothly.

-I've been a little under the weather this past week, so please pray that I'll be back at 100% by Monday!

Much love,

Maria

Camp week two!

Hey guys! I'm super excited to be writing to y'all about week two of camp. It was a very fun, enjoyable week...quite a contrast from week one!

I'll start with a brief overview of what my jobs were last week. I have lots of pictures of this week, but unfortunately my laptop is dead and I can't load pictures from my phone. So I will edit this post tomorrow to include images. :) So, for my jobs. I helped with food prep quite a bit week two, so I was in the kitchen for almost every meal. Making food for 70 is a lot of work. :) I also was in charge of a game station during rotating activities. And I chaperoned creek time and ran the trading post (where the kids get snacks using points they earn from participation and good behavior.

The kids this week were from two orphanages in two different cities: Mizil and Urziceni. They mostly got along well with each other, which was awesome. Here are some pictures from the week! Enjoy. :)

Morning worship session.

Lining the kids up to be divided into teams for activities.

Activity stations! Andrada's team dominated the frisbee game. :)

Ianis during a water relay race. :)

Beanbag toss!

More water games.

Obstacle course winning team!

Lunchtime. :)

The trampoline is always a favorite.

Ioana and I making the kids s'mores Thursday night.

The entire week 2 crowd.

Praises:
-I finally got my visa!!!
-Week 2 of camp was great.

Requests:
-Week 3 of camp has begun! Please pray for staff and camper health.
-Pray that the kids would cooperate and play nicely together.

Pictures to come!
Maria

That first week though...

Hey everybody! I'm sorry you've been without an update for another 10 days...I'm SURE you're anxiously awaiting word from me. :) The first week of camp has come and gone and there are six left. I rode with the kids on the train back to Bucharest Friday and had a great day of rest yesterday. This morning I went to IBC (International Baptist Church) and Dylan (former youth leader at my church who arrived Friday) preached there.

To be perfectly honest, I almost didn't write this post (on camp week 1). It was a very rough week with a lot of challenges. The kids we worked with are from Ciresarii orphanage in Bucharest and also there were some kids from social apartments in the city. They are very hard kids.

Although this week was somewhat discouraging to me at first, I eventually (on the train ride here actually) realized that no matter what, these kids heard the Gospel taught. Sure, they may have talked through some of the lessons and acted out during the singing time, but I know they heard Jesus taught at least a little bit. And nothing bad can come from hearing about Jesus.

The entire group (note the awesome staff safari hats). I'm the seventh person from the right in a lime green tshirt.

Week 2 (this week), I'll be working with orphans and street children from Mizil, another Romanian city. Part of the staff will be comprised of IMB missionaries and their team that works with these kids regularly. I'm looking forward to chatting with the IMB missionaries especially.

I'm very sorry this post is short and almost picture-less. I'll try to have more pictures for next week! 

Praises:

-Rachael & David, Cami & Steve's daughter and son-in-law, and Dylan made it here safely.

-I'm getting my visa next Monday! I know I said that last time, but this time it's real. I think. ;)

Requests:

-Week 2 of camp starts tomorrow! Please be in prayer for the kids coming and the staff.