It's hard to believe we are more than half way through our time here in Romania. It has been absolutely amazing here. It's awesome to see how kids are drawn to a particular adult.
Before we left the USA for Romania we were each given a picture of a child from Apt 7. I knew that we would see kids from apt 7 but wasn't sure if I would get to meet my girl Maria.
The first day we were here, children from Pinocchio orphanage came to visit. I was sitting on the couch attempting to play a game with the kids when another group of kids came through the door. One girl made a b-line right to me and told the little boy next to me to move and she sat next to me to help me play. Something looked familiar about this girl so I went up to get the picture I was given. I looked at the picture and showed it to someone else on the team to see if they thought it was the same girl. She looked a little different, older and with darker hair.
But it couldn't be my girl Maria, she was from apt 7 and all these kids were from Pinocchio. So I took the picture down stairs with me and asked her name. She said Maria. I showed her the picture and the look on her face was priceless. She kept asking me how I got the picture. She stayed by my side the entire day. She is a very affectionate girl. Always holding my hand, giving me kisses on the cheek, telling me she loved me. She spoke decent English so we were able to communicate fairly well.
At the end of the day she took the picture and wrote something on the back in Romanian. When I asked her what it said she said "I love you and I wish I could be with you always". It broke my heat that this young girl has so much love to give and nobody to give it to.
Maria was back again today and once again she was right beside me and full of affection.
Every time we meet a group of children, something is drawing the children and adults together in some unspoken way. We all know that it's God speaking to us and drawing us together. God knows who belongs together and he knows who will have the biggest impact on all our hearts. Sometimes it's easy to be drawn to the cute little kid with the dimples and curly hair, but God has other plans and instead points you to the shy little girl in the corner.
We thought we were coming here to share our love and teach the children about Christ, but they have certainly taught us a few lessons. It is heartbreaking when you leave one of the orphanages or the kids leave the CTL facility and you know it's the last time you are going to see them. But we know God is watching over them and the people here at CTL will continue to bless them with their love, and Gods words. God is definitely at work here and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
God Bless
Patty
No comments:
Post a Comment