Friday, August 28, 2009

The NEW Casa Ana Nadia...

We are enjoying wrapping up summer and getting ready for a new school year with some pictures and here is the new Casa Ana Nadia. This house now has all the children who lived in Casa Nadia as well as Daniel, Catalina and Zorro from Casa Ana.






Again, please pray for each child in Casa Ana Nadia as we continue to adjust to change and begin a new year of school in a few weeks! Thank you to all of you who continue to faithfully sponsor children in our care. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please contact kelly@livada.org.

The NEW Casa Rebeca...

In the midst of all our summer ministry... camps, day camps, teams, interns, volunteers, and more... we have also been adjusting to all the changes that have come with combining our three group homes into two. It has not always been easy. Some have struggled with getting used to a new house... others have been adjusting to living with new kids... others with the change in some of the staff... and the list goes on.

As summer is drawing to a close and the start of school is right around the corner we are beginning to see a calm come over the houses again as the children are settling into the changes. We are so thankful for all God has done in bringing us through this transition period. This week we were able to take our new house pictures and our annual pictures for our sponsors. Here are a few of the kids from Casa Rebeca. As you know, the new additions to the former Casa Rebeca are Kati & Claudia from Casa Ana.






Please continue to pray for each child at Casa Rebeca as they move into a new school year and continue to settle into the "new" Casa Rebeca. For all of you who are child sponsors with us... new pictures are coming soon!

Our Final Weeks of Summer...

Although Camp Vetca was closed a few weeks early, we were so blessed by the opportunities that God opened up for our final two teams. Our team from Neighborhood Alliance Church in Florida was able to reach out to the children and teens from a gypsy village called, Apalina. This group of children participated in a Day Camp with us earlier in the summer and it was a blessing to be able to follow up with them, reinforce the Good News and build relationships. The team made the switch from Camp to Day Camp very graciously and jumped right in to invest in these children!

Our final week of the summer was also filled with Day Camp activities... Jupiter Christian School, also from Florida was here with us and was able to invest in the children from the gypsy village of Petelea. For this group we were able to bring them into Targu Mures and have the camp at a local school. It worked out great and the children enjoyed getting away and having this team build into them!


The afternoons were filled with Sports Camp with the LOC kids. This team of young people, many of them the same age or a little older than our oldest kids did a very good job of relating to them in a real way and sharing their stories... relationship with the Lord, struggles, victories, etc. with them. Our kids responded and really enjoyed this final week of summer visitors.





Please continue to pray for us as we move from summer ministry back into the day to day of working with our local authorities to care for our children as well as invest in the children in state care. We know that after this rough summer, there is some healing and new ways of working together that need to take place. Pray that we will have wisdom as we move forward this fall.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

More from Day Camp...

Here is a little more from the LOC kids Day Camp... ROwrestleMANIA!
Games... crafts... memory verses... crazy skits... and more made for a fun week!




There were special moments in small group time when team members were able to share their stories of what God has done in their lives and the children were able to share as well. There were also moments of crazy laughter and silliness with the messy games that included some "wrestling" events.






The Wedgewood team was a blessing to our kids and the kids were able to thank them at the end with a special party that they planned with the house staff. We pray that they will continue to learn to be thankful for all that they are given and all that God has done. Please continue to pray for our kids during this summer of transition. We are so thankful for you!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

The Wrestle Mania Continues...

This week we were joined by a team from Wedgewood Baptist Church in Texas. They led Day Camp with our LOC kids and had a great time! As you will see... there were games, crafts, best wrestler costume contests, even a campfire cookout.
















It has been a great week and the kids have not only had fun, but have learned a lot. We are so thankful for the ongoing ministry to our kids. We pray that God will continue to change their hearts and lives.

More to come from the LOC ROwrestleMANIA day camp...