Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Touring with the Mentor Teens...

Many of our young adults in the Mentor Program have busy schedules with school and/or work. Besides get togethers on a few weeknights each month, they are rarely able to get away together and spend time doing something different. This summer Alina Muresan, who is our new director of the Mentor Program, planned a little get away and all those who were able to attend, loved it.


They went to an area called "Maremures" and saw some historical and some beautiful sights. One place they stopped was at the "Cimitrul Vesel", an old cemetery very different from others as the markers are painted with bright colors and each has a few words about the life of the person there. They also went to visit a prison where those who opposed the communist regime were held and tortured years ago.


There was also time at the cabin where they stayed to just hang out and joke around and enjoy time together with their mentors and each other. The following day they toured a monastery built completely of wood and they went up the mountain by cable car to see the waterfalls. As you can see, this is a beautiful part of Romania and these young people really enjoyed being out of the city and in the great outdoors!



They really wanted to see more of the mountain and falls, so they took off on foot climbing and hiking through the area. They loved it, but all came back sore the next day!



Joining the young people of the mentor program on this outing were three teens from our group homes who will be transitioning into the mentor program this fall: Marian, Simona & Elis. This was their first real introduction to the mentor program and they were very happy and thankful to be included. Simona shared that this was the best trip of her life!

In the end, fun was had by all and the young people of this program were encouraged and reminded once again that although they are in a different stage of life than the kids, who seem to play all the time, they are still important and need a little fun too!

Please continue to pray for Alina as she leads this important ministry. Pray for the mentors who work with these young adults each day. Pray for those young people who are graduating from the mentor program this fall. Pray that they would know that we are here for them to guide them and assist them in this next step towards independence, but that they would also begin to take that responsibility seriously and work hard. Pray for the three who will step from the houses into the mentor apartments this fall and begin this journey towards independence. Thank you for all who help support and pray for these young people!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Creative Kids

Each summer there is camp and sometimes even sports camp, but this summer there was something special for those more artistically inclined. For a few days this week a group of children from each of our group homes participated in a some special art classes with our website designer and brother to one of our Western staff, Jared Hornsby.



The kids took a day to learn sketching, perspective and other things while drawing a still life. This was more difficult than these talented children may have guessed. Most of what they draw is from their imagination or is copying another picture. It took some practice for them to notice detail and draw what they actually saw in the group of objects before them.



Day two was spent with paints and canvas. Each of the kids learned a lot about mixing colors, how to draw things that overlap, not using black paint like a pencil line and more. They worked hard, grew frustrated at times, tried again and all ended up with a painting they were proud of. We are so thankful to Jared for giving of his time and talents to provide special art lessons for these talented children. We are also thankful to the Stroup family whose gift helped to provide the needed materials.


Please pray that God will continue to provide ways for us to enrich the gifts that He has given each child in our care and the encouragement they need to try new things.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Thank You Interns...


You saw them come early... work hard... serve with everything they had... and love these kids selflessly all summer. Whether they were here for four weeks, eight weeks or the ever faithful ten weekers... this group of interns has been a blessing to the staff, the volunteers and most of all to the kids!

The last few interns along with follow up staff, some volunteers and other helpers, cleaned up Vetca this week. From putting it up and getting ready to taking it down and packing all safely away for another great summer next year... these guys have done it all with a smile and willing heart.



We are so thankful for the team God put together this summer to be here in Romania and work with us. You can read their personal blogs and hear their personal stories, insights and experiences with kids and in Romania this summer at: http://www.livada.org/interns_08.htm

Friday, August 8, 2008

One Last Look...

One last look at Vetca 2008...



The last night of the last week... this party started off with a bang! Sounds like fireworks, but it is just the sound of about 200 balloons being popped to start off the fun of the party...






Once again the Muscle Mania was a big hit and the crowds went wild cheering for their team's muscle man (or girl)!






But, the last night of camp would not be the last night of camp without the final talk and a time to pray with each child. It was great to see Brian Schlarb, one of our interns, step up and share the final lesson of the week. At twenty-one, Brian is likely the same age as some of the oldest campers, but all the kids look up to him and think he is crazy and cool.


It was great to watch the kids faces as this young leader stood up to tell them about his Friend and Father Jesus who always has his back and how one day in Heaven he and Ovi, Alexandra, Sarah and others were going to be having a big break dance party and wanted them all to be there with him! He told them that God sent His Son... He told them that they could leave the past in the past... He prayed with them and there was silence. Pray that these kids continue to think about their friend Brian who loves Jesus with all his heart and stood up to tell them about Him!





Pray that God will continue to work through the seeds planted, the love poured out and the hearts changed and that this year as we follow up with these kids and continue to show them the love of the Father, that those seeds will take root and grow!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

More from Vetca...


Toader would like to welcome you back to week 7 at Vetca!




We are so thankful for our great group of volunteers (Romanian Summer Staff), our follow up staff and the remaining interns... as well as our new friend Denny who was going to just visit for a day and is going to be able to stay for the week with the kids...




We want to give a special thank you to the Weaver Foundation in Dallas that provided the funds for this and one other week of camp this summer... these were two weeks for which we did not have teams and were not sure how we would be able to get every child to camp. We are so thankful for this foundation for providing for these and other children this summer to come and experience the Vetca Olympics!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Final Week... with Sincrai & Sarmas!

This is the 7th and final week of camp at Vetca this summer... it is a week without a team... with only 5 of our once 20 strong intern team... with 21 Romanian volunteers and one visitor from the America for some of the week.

This is also a week with a mixture of everything... little kids, big kids, tough kids, special needs kids, even some foster care kids that we have never met.

If you look at this week from the world's perspective or certainly from Satan's perspective... the cards are stacked against us for this final week of camp.

But we know & believe that when we are weak... He is strong! We know that God is going to work in a new and fresh way this week in the lives of these kids and is going to show up in a way that we can not even imagine as we start the week.









It may be the final week of camp for us... we may be tired... but it is the first and only week of camp for these kids! Pray for all those at camp this week that God will give them supernatural energy and love for this special group of children and teens. Pray that God would take away distractions and draw these kids to Himself. Pray that this final week of "The Vetca Olympics" will be a great one!

More to come from Week 7!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Simona turns 18!


It was a Happy Birthday for Simona this week from Casa Ana! She turned 18 years old! She is our first to reach this exciting age from the three group homes, so we wanted to start a tradition of doing something special to celebrate this very special birthday!

Simona was able to invite all the moms and educators from Casa Ana along with several friends from the other houses and from town that she wanted to include along with her Casa Ana "family" and we all went to the Weekend and had a special time with ice cream sundaes for all followed by swimming.


Simona was glad to have lots of friends and those important to her around for this special day and even got a call from Angela (who worked with her for almost three years) from America! It was a big day and one that we hope she will remember.



Pray for Simona as she and Elis from Casa Ana move into a mentor apartment this fall. Pray that they will have great respect for their mentor, Gabi, who has been a mom at Casa Ana from the beginning and already has a good relationship with the girls. Pray that she will continue to grow in character and that God will draw her to Himself through this new stage of life.

Welcome Home!


Thursday was a big day at Casa Nadia! Daniel Simon, who has been taking part in a year long therapy program at "Casa Daniel" was welcomed home again!

Daniel has been talking about this day for weeks and was so excited to finally be back with all the other kids at Casa Nadia... He has had many steps of his therapy program to work through and has made incredible progress this year. You can see such a difference being around this young man now. It is like the "real" Daniel is finally shining through!



There was a special homecoming meal and party for Daniel to let him know how excited everyone was to have him home and to mark and celebrate all the things he has overcome this year!


Daniel's little brother Sergiu is especially glad to have him home and was goofing around with him only minutes after his arrival! It was great to see these two brothers laughing and celebrating together!


Please join us in prayer for Daniel and all the staff and kids at Casa Nadia. Pray that the positive behavioral and emotional changes in Daniel will hold true and that he will transition back into a house full of other children well. Pray that he will use the skills he has learned this year in communication and conflict resolution well. Pray that he will also handle going back to school and being one of many instead of one on one well. Pray for grace and patience for the staff during the readjustment period.

We want to say a BIG thank you to all those who gave towards this life changing year for Daniel and to those who have been committed prayer warriors for this young man! God has done a amazing work in his life!