Hey everyone!! So I am up at 3:30 in the morning due to a mosquito having a feast on my hands and arms. Ugh!!! So I thought I would share what is going on here in Romania. The past week has been really good. I have been trying to get everything done before I head to the states here in 8 days. 8 DAYS!!! I can hardly believe it!! Saturday I had a wonderful time with my small group from church. We each shared about the struggles we are currently going through and asked each other what the Lord is trying to teach us through them. It was my last meeting with them until I return in February.
I hope the next few days fly by. What I really want to say is I wish it was already Wednesday afternoon and my mom and sister were here!! Soon enough though! Lots to do before they get here and I still need to start packing!!
Not looking forward to saying goodbye to the kids this week.
Well I am gonna try to get back to sleep. Hopefully no more bugs attacking me!
Night all!

Last week was one of the best weeks I have had in Romania. The week started out with me having 3 of the gypsy girls over for a sleepover. After the center that day I went home with them to make sure it was okay with their mother. I was then given a gypsy skirt to buy from the mother. I had been asking for awhile now. So they dressed me up with the skirt and a scarf and we took lots of pictures. We then headed across down to my apartment. We played Uno and watched part of a movie. We then went to McDonalds which was an adventure for sure because two of the girls have never been there before. After we ate we came back and did some craft stuff, they took showers and then went to bed. The next day I made them pancakes and took them to the mall to buy school supplies. Then we headed back to their house where they pulled everything out that I bought them and talked about the whole night. Their mother Mandra was telling me about how she had a limp and her leg had been bothering her and she had been praying and crying out to God to heal her. She has been healed for 3 weeks and she was explaining how she now believes in the power of prayer. She wanted her daughter to write down my name so that she could pray for me and my family. That was a huge moment for me. The people that I came to serve and to minister to are now ministering to me. I really feel like this family has accepted me and I love them to pieces.
Later on in the week, Susanan told me that her older sister had something to tell me that the Lord had laid on her heart. When I recieved the letter the next day I felt so blessed. A fourteen year old girl felt the Lord telling her to tell me something. The letter basically said that God has me in His hands, He loves me and wants the best for me.
Friday I took Ana, the girl that I have been praying for, to the mall for a movie and dinner. We ended up seeing Hannah Montana which was hilarious because I was the oldest person in the theater. We then had pizza and bought school supplies for her and her two sisters. When we got back to her house she pulled out everything to give to her sisters and to show her mother. Her mom started to cry and was so thankful for what I was able to give the girls. She then told me about how her husband and her had gotten divorced and she now has to raise 4 children by herself. But Praise the Lord she found a job and started today.

These two families that I shared about are the two families that I have visited off and on throughout the year. Their children are so precious to me and I will miss them so much while I am in the states. So this was basically a summary of my great week. It may not seem like much but to me, feeling accepted by these families is very important to me. Oh and I almost forgot one of the best parts at least for me. On my way home after dropping Ana off, all the kids were outside in the neighborhood or part of town and they were all yelling at me and came running up to me. These are all kids from Children of the Promise. My heart just swelled up. I was thinking all the way home, the kids love me!!!!!

9 days til my mom and sister get here and 15 days til I will be in the states. So much going on and so much to do before I head out but I can't wait to see friends and family. But I know I will miss the kids and my friends here.

Baby Hospital

This is Brasov where my friend Rachel lives. I came for a visit but while I am here I am kinda helping out. Last week we sorted through boys and girls clothes that were donated and were just piled up in their storage room in the hospital. And today I was able to help out in the hospital with the babies. Oh I love babies and I am never around them in Oradea. For a little over an hour I got to hold a couple babies. Then we were off to deliver diapers to the different areas of the hospital, feed the babies and then change the diapers. The only little boy that I held for most of the time; his diaper was completely wet, the poor little boy. So I wrapped a little sheet around him so that I could hold him until it was changing time which only happens 4 times a day; in the morning, at noon, at 4 in the afternoon and at night. When I finally put him down to go after diapers so that we could change him, the front of me was completely wet. Kinda gross but I knew that it would probably happen and the only time the poor baby wasn't crying was when he was held. I was only there for a few hours but it broke my heart to leave the babies there just waiting for the next person to take time to hold them and love them. All the babies that the organization works with in this hospital are ones that have been abandoned so the staff that works the hospital are the only people that hold and care for the little ones.

Well Rachel and I head out to a camp near Sibiu tomorrow until Wednesday afternoon. It's a short time but I am sure I will come back with a story or two.

August Week 1

I had a wonderful week back at the center, Children of the Promise. Wednesday after we were done there I left with the girls to go to a park and play Uno. Well we ended up visiting one of the other girls home and then to the park. We played one game before some other kids joined us and they wanted to teach me how to play a game. I was amazed that the kids who joined us knew who I was. So I attempted to learn this game, which I don't know the name of, and it is played with two sticks. I wasn't very good but after I got the idea of how it was played, I really enjoyed it. I love those girls and the kids. I ran into Frunza today at the market who was buying bread with her mom. I love the fact that I know her family and they seem to enjoy having me around. Her mom told me that she enjoyed the brownies that I send home with the girls the other day.

I know I say this a lot but it always amazes me. I love the way you can interact and meet new people just through playing sports. Our church went to this place right outside of the city last night and we played volleyball and soccer. I played volleyball the whole time and met a lot of new people. I love my church here. God has been so good in bringing new people into my life.

I am excited that Wednesday I will be in Brasov with my friend for a week. I will be helping her organize some donations for the hospital, spend a few hours in the hospital holding babies and then just hanging out with Rachel. I can't believe how fast this month is already going by. I am expecting a few more guests this month so I know that time will continue to fly by.

Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and support! You are truly a blessing!!

Summer Overview

Summer is flying by. I can't believe it's already August. The past couple months have been very busy but really great.
The beginning of July, Megan (my cousin), Megan (our intern) and I headed for our cross-country trip. We headed to Brasov to do some sightseeing on our way to the sea. We were able to visit a palace in Sinaia, Bran Castle (Dracula's castle) and a fortress in Rasnov. We then headed from there south to Medgidia where we spent 5 days working with a couple there.

We spent 3 days going to a school in a local village where we helped the teacher with the Turkish Gypsies that were coming for summer school. These kids were extremely behind in their studies and struggling to learn Romanian and some could not even do simple math. It was so sad but we had a lot of fun with them. We were also able to visit a apartment building called Casa Alba (White House). There are about 80 one room apartments and it is so filthy. There is trash and human waste all outside of the building. It broke my heart to see the conditions that these people were living in and especially the kids. I was very thankful for this opportunity to see all that this couple is involved in. I am planning on visiting again sometime next year. One afternoon we were able to go to the Black Sea and hang out there. It was cool to say that I have been to the Black Sea but it's not anything special.

After our 16 hour train ride back, my cousin and I got on another train and headed to Budapest where we spend a few days before she headed back to home. We had a wonderful time sightseeing the city. The week after I got back I took some time to myself and was able to catch up on sleep and get lots of things done around here.

Last week was my first week back to the center, Children of the Promise, after being gone for a few weeks. It was so good to see the kids and the girls. They are so sweet. We have been reviewing English, playing cards and games.

This has been a wonderful summer even though it has been really hot.

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting as often. My goal is to post every couple days.

(Since I am without my computer, I will post pictures as soon as I can)

Its been a little too long since I last posted. I am doing well. Looking forward to the start of a crazy summer (the next couple months). One intern coming tomorrow and will be here til the beginning of August. My cousin comes for a month which I am really looking forward to.  I am excited to spend time with the kids at Children of the Promise and with my friends from church.

I am in Timisoara right now and have had a wonderful couple days down here. I love my friends here and am so thankful for them. I have been spending the majority of my time with my friends Steve and Kristi who have returned for two weeks from the states to pack up and sell their stuff then move back to Arizona. I am sad to see them leave but I know they are being obedient to the Lord. I have had lots and lots of time with their new little boy Andre. He is such a sweety!! 

It's going to be a great summer and I can't wait to see all the Lord is going to do!!!

This past Sunday we celebrated Easter here in Romania. We had a wonderful celebration service at church. I met 4 Americans there that invited me for lunch. I was so thankful because I had no plans for the day and was going to be alone. I ended up spending the whole afternoon with them. They were a huge encouragement.

The whole week leading up to Easter, the kids were out of school. So we had them from 10-5 at the center. They had so much energy. We took them outside to play one day and another day they were quizzed on the facts about the resurrection. On Wednesday we had an Easter program where each group from the center either put on a skit/drama, sang a song or read a poem. I was amazed when I watched all the kids come in the room. We had about 92 kids. What an amazing time. We sang together and watched each group perform. After the program, each child that attends school received a pair of shoes, bag of candy and ice cream.

If you want to see some pictures and videos of the Easter program, check out my picasa site
http://picasaweb.google.com/kellyjames13

Rome

Well I had the wonderful opportunity to spend my bday in Rome. How crazy is that! I traveled with my friends, Anna, Amanda and Lynn for the weekend. We had a blast! Even with such a short time there we saw everything that we wanted to. We saw so much and so fast, I think I am still processing it all. Like Sunday morning we were walking through the Colosseum then Sunday night we were back in Romania. It was almost like it didn't happen. I love Rome! There is just something about the city. It's hard to put into words how the trip went since I am still processing it myself but I wanted to share a few pics with you all.

These are just a few of the pics. If you want to see more check out my picasa site! http://picasaweb.google.com/KellyJames13

Walk through the park!

Today we ventured out to walk throught the park in the snow. It has been snowing the past couple days and since being here I have not seen this much snow. I hope you enjoy the pics!

Do I have a story to tell!!!

My friend Rachel is back and staying with me until she moves to Brasov ( a city about 6 hours away) at the end of the month. So Sue, Rachel and I went to Budapest for one last hurrah all together. Sunday we walked around the city and went and checked out the Labyrinth of the Buda Castle. It is a 1200-meter long system of caves and cellars with historic walls and mysterious attractions, as the brochure says. Well I was scared for most of the time we were walking through the tunnels. It was barely lit and there were parts that were completely dark, not my idea of fun but I do have a few pictures. Sunday night we went to a Calvery Chapel church service which was completely in Hungarian but thankfully they had traslation. It is always a blessing to me to be among other believers even when we don't speak the same language but we have one thing in common and that is Christ!

Monday we did some shopping then headed back in the afternoon. Along the way, I kept saying I don't remember this or I don't remember driving through Debrecen at all. Well when we came up to the border crossing and realized that it was not the one we normally crossed through we began to look around. Then we realized after looking at some of the license plates that we were getting ready to cross into the Ukraine. No one there spoke English and we sat there forever so I finally got out of the car and tried to find someone to give us directions. Well we did get directions but they were given to us in Ukrainian. So they let us turn around and we headed back into Hungary to try to cut through to get back into Romania. We had to stop a few other times to ask for directions and finally we found someone who spoke English and after that we didn't have any problems. It just took forever with the roads that were really bad. We finally arrived home at 3 am. It was a long trip but so much fun!!

I am so thankful for friends and good memories!

The other day I visited some of the homes of the girls I have been working with at the center (Children of the Promise). I was a little nervous but the girls had been asking me for awhile to come visit them. It was an eye opener for sure. The first family has 9 children and they all live in one room together. The kitchen was separate but still it is such a small space for all of them. The second family that I visited has 4 kids and its the same, there is one main room where all the kids sleep. Both families were very kind to me and wanting to know about me and I was able to talk with them. It was such a great experience. I feel so blessed with everything that I have after seeing how little they have. But even with how little they have, they are happy.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year!! I sure did!

For Christmas I headed south 3 hours to Timisoara to spend it with my friends there. Christmas Eve we went to Anna's church for a service which was full of singing carols, a short message and the kids did a little program, it was so cute. After the service about 20 of us piled into cars and headed all over the city to 10 different houses/apartments and Christmas caroled. It was so much fun. At most of the places, we crammed inside to sing and we treated with some snacks, drinks and a little bit of money. We were out til 3 in the morning. I was so so tired but I had lots of fun and learned some new songs too. Oh yeah, around 2 that morning while we were out it started to snow. It was so cool and after we had went to bed it continued to snow so we woke up to a white Christmas. So on Christmas day, we headed outside to play in the snow. There wasn't a whole lot but enough that it covered the ground. So we threw snow balls and even attempted at making tiny snowmen. We then had a big afternoon meal which was so much fun. I cracked a bon bon for the first time which was full of candy and a paper hat which in Australia they wear during the meal. So of course I put it on. It was kinda of funny wearing this crown of a hat during the meal but nice to experience a new tradition. For our Christmas meal, there were 3 girls from Australia, 3 girls from Finland and Anna from New Zealand and me. We then later headed to church for a evening service. It was nice to see friends there and then afterwards we headed into the center of town to take pictures of the lights. It was so cold that we ended up in McDonalds just to warm up before heading out again.

The rest of the time that I was down in Timisoara, we spent watching movies and on Saturday night we went to Camelot, a medieval restaurant. It was a great time with my friends!

I headed back on Monday and I was so thankful to be home but boy did I have lots of laundry to do.. I spent the next couple days just getting the apartment back together and doing some major cleaning.

New Year's Eve, I went to my friend Sue's place to watch some movies. It was fun cuz in the middle of the movie we kept hearing this booming sound. We opened up the window and everyone was outside setting off fireworks. Those who were either too lazy or too cold to come outside were setting them off from their apartment windows. We ended up going outside and walking around the block to see as many as we could. It was so loud but it was an experience at that.

So that was basically my Christmas and New Year! I am so thankful for the friends I have here because they made it a great time even though it was my first time away from my family.

Here are some pics!!!

To see more pics from my Christmas please check out my Picasa site.

picasaweb.google.com/kellyjames13