Laaaatvia

Allie here

Its our last night in Liepija, and we have our last day of sports camp tomorrow.  This week has been crazy, awesome, and hard.  These kids have been so amazing and frustrating to be with.  They definitely push you to your limits, but all they really want is someone to love them.  When they finally let you in and break past all those walls it is incredible.  Us interns have been doing the Bible story session all week.  We didn't know that was what we were going to do, but it was been really cool.  We did skits everyday, usually 8 skits a day.  We are going to be VBS skit professionals when we get home. We are thinking about even traveling the country and performing at different VBSs.  That a different story all together.  The kids this week had and Bible story, craft, music time, snack and sports time twice a day.  We start at 10 a.m. and go untill 4 a.m.  Tonight we had a Christian band come in and play for the kids.  We all danced and a pastor from here spoke.  We all had a blast out there.  It is amazing to see God working in these kids.  They go from fighting us to not wanting to let go off our hands.  We have to physically push kids off our bus everyday we leave.  Then as we drive off they all run beside us as far as they can.  Tonight I had kids coming up to me wanting Bibles.  God is so good, all the time.  Tomorrow we have to say goodbye to these precious kids, and I am dreading it completely.  I never realized coming in to this how many goodbyes us interns would have to go through.  Tomorrow we will have our second one.  These kids just grab your heart and it is so hard to let go.  Next, we have to say goodbye to the Longview team.  All of them were just so amazing.  We were truly blessed to get to work beside them, and serve them in anyway we could.  Monday we are working and Buckners Foster Family camp.  We have 90 kids coming, and it is going to be so much fun. 

Thanks for the prayers 

Keep 'em coming

Lots of love

Allie, Shandi, Lindsey, and Dala

It´s a Little Late....But this is Guatemala´s 2nd week Post!!

This is EDWIN....sweet sweet Edwin. He is one of the babies at the Xela orphanage...He is gorgeous....WE LOVE HIM....

Our amazing Translators! and FRIENDS forever!!!!!

This is sweet Jennifer smiling, who we hope God is encouraging daily, as we are gone.......

THIS is us!! Your crazy and loveable interns!!......we love eachother SO much..........can you tell?

Well.....

The second week was SUCH a blessing. Honestly, we were not sure what to expect from the second week because we had grown so attached to the kids from our first orphanage.....BUT our heart´s were open and our arms were ready to love on any child we were about to come across.....

The children at this orphanage in Xela we could already tell were a little bit different from the others....They weren´t as readily willing to jump on you! and hug and kiss you! as you walked in....it would take a little bit of time before they would warm up to us.....That took a little getting used to, but when the kids did warm up to us.....it was HEAVEN. There were a good number of special needs kids at this orphanage whose faces just lit up our hearts....one of the special needs boys in a wheel chair even knew words in english! and would speak them to us...it was AWESOME!......The children loved the songs that we sang....Haaaaabia un sapo, sapo, sapo!......and....Y yooooo, aqui estoy esperando. Yoooo, aqui estoy esperando! Cristo me dijo que vendria otra vez, que vendria otra vez.....The kids LOVED THEM! and we absolutely loved to hear them sing so loudly...

The group we went with was a group from Midland, Texas. They had a great program planned out for the whole group of kids that worked very smoothly. It was such a blessed week. There was a little itty bitty cute boy named Luis Eduardo who we learned had been found in a dumpster and brought to this orphanage. He was the most handsome little boy you could ever lay eyes on.....and his story was so sad, but through this orphanage, he had hope. We learned some of the stories of different children there......and ONE in particular stood out to me and one of my good friends here Liz.....

There was this girl around 10 years of age (she didn´t know her age or birthday) who always was quiet and was really rather down the whole first day we were there. Even during songs or games she would not want to participate or anything. She was in the group that Liz and I were in charge of, so we took notice and Liz approached her first. When she asked her what was wrong, she said that she did not want to be there. In talking to her more, she let Liz know that she had just arrived there at the orphanage on Saturday (we arrived there on Monday). She only had one brother there with her, but she had another back home and she missed her mother and her abuelita (gramma). She cried by Liz´s side for a little while and then we had to continue with our time there, so she continued to just go along with the activities. Little by little Liz was trying to encourage her with smiles and hugs and just touch. I was also trying to encourage her but did not know the extent of Jennifer´s sadness until the 2nd day we were there. The second day, I sad down on the ground near Jennifer and said, ¨Come here.¨ I nudged her near me and sad her down beside me. Her face was so, so, so down. I began to ask her what was wrong as anyone else would, but then realized......this girl needs me to grab her and hold her like a baby in my arms, and just....cry. So that´s what I did, I kindly held her in my arms and just rocked her telling her of God´s sweet love for her, and wiping her tears. Before when Liz tried to tell her that God loved her, she would nod her head NO...that God does not love her. But here, while she was in my lap crying, I quietly assured her that He was definitely with her in her heart and loving her.....even when it was hard, He was there. When she missed her mother and her grandmother, He was there. I asked her.....Do you believe that? and she knodded her head...YES. Soon after rocking her a little while longer, one of the workers came and picked her up and wiped her tears and sent her off to play with the other kids. As the day continued, me and Liz would point her out to eachother when she started to play with the other kids! She began singing the songs! She began smiling....and taking pictures with us!.....The Lord, through us, had strengthened her heart....and we were just standing back in AWE. By the last day, she was a new girl. God had moved in her heart and we pray and hope that He continues to, even though we had to leave her side that day....

As a team we bonded so tightly during this past week....so tightly knit that it will be one of the hardest things to say bye to eachother in a week and half. It is so hard to believe that the month is almost over. I´m sure that all of our family and friends are ready to see us again.....but our hearts have experienced something here that we can never forget and would never want to forget...TRUE RELIGION (John). When we left the orphanage, us interns were under the impression that we were returning to that orphanage in 1 week, so our hopes were up! But during this current week, we learned that we would be going back to Xela but not back to that orphanage....that was a big let down.....but it has taught us ONCE AGAIN......to TRUST....not in ourselves or our own abilities, but its God´s powerful and most sufficient ability to love his children when they are lonely and without arms to hold them. We have to trust. Trust, trust, trust......every day, and PRAY.

Two such elementary concepts in the faith, and yet they are concepts that are being grown and imprinted forever into our walk with the Lord each day as we are here. We are loving these children, loving eachother, love all of you, and loving our Lord Jesus who is so so so very good to us and has blessed us beyong measure undeservingly so.

Thank you so much for your prayers still!!! Keep it up! We need them so much, especially as the time comes for us to leave eachother and leave the lives that we have experienced here in Guatemala......

We love you,

Until next week,

Missing and thinking of each of you,

Kelli, Gina, Liz, Viv, Sadie, Mallorie, Molly, and Ranger Rache.

Week 3: Lima, Peru

Hola! Lima is beginning to feel a little more like home! We are excited to be serving here and building relationships in this big, busy, wonderful city. We spent the last week running a VBS program at the OSA House. It is a center that allows children from the community of Collique to come and spend a morning or afternoon, depending on when the children have school, in a safe, welcoming and loving enviorment. Two missionaries Jessie and Chris, along with their son Joshua have commited to run the center with a team of social workers. It was so exciting to work with them and learn from them. They are passionate about seeing God work in this area and meet needs of the whole family. For the children to attend the OSA center their parents have to commit to coming to classes on parenting and family care. They are also invited to attend a Bible study open to anyone in the community. While the children are there during the day they are taught math, reading, science and most importantly God's Word. They were so excited to share with us the Bible stories they knew, memory verses, and that they could recite all of the old and new testament books of the Bible. We did learn that they were confused about grace though. There was a poll taken to see if the children beleived if their sins were truly forgiven. Some beleived that you had to perform certain duties to have your sins forgiven, some thought that you could only be forgiven once. So throughout the week while we taught out of the gospels, we tried to focus on having freedom in Christ and fully receiving His grace.

The children at the OSA house were precious and beautiful. Everyday when we got there children would be waiting by the door thirty minutes before they were allowed in. They would rush into the center and run to hug and kiss us. We started each morning and afternoon session off with lots of singing and praising. Then the children were split into three groups that would rotate through bible study, crafts and games. Every day they learned a new memory verse and were excited to hear God's Word. They are so open to truth. On our final day, we had planned a small party. The children were treated to a story acted out by Julie, Bingo (their favorite game ever), games, face painting, music, popcorn, sodas, candy and dancing. They also received some presents, we put together some school packs for the children that included a notebook, ruler, pencils, sharpener, erasers, pens and scissors. They were so thankful and happy! Before the children left we were able to share why we came, how thankful we are for them and their sweet hearts, and also had a time for testimonies. An experiance we will never forget. We shared that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that His gift of forgiveness is a free gift. That there is nothing we could do to earn God's love. We used the verse Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We hope that they know in their hearts that Jesus loves them just as they are, imperfections and all, and that they do not have to work to earn his love. We said our goodbyes and were covered in hugs and kisses for the last time by the children of Collique.

Once again we are so greatful for the full-time Buckner staff in Peru, they have taken such good care of us and have taught us so much about being faithful, humble servants. We had the day off today as it was Peru's Independence Day! We will begin work this week at a home for teenage mother's and their children. Our focus will again be on forgiveness and the life of Joseph. Please pray that we will quickly build strong relationships with the mothers and that we will be able to share our testimonies with them. Also please pray for one of our interns who is sick, Nydia. She was treated today by doctors and was given a prescription. Pray that God will heal her quickly and restore her with energy and her lovely, joyful spirit that we have been missing.

Loving Latvia

Allie here!

Okay, so we are now here in Liepaja. We loved our last two weeks in Jelgava, and it was so hard to leave there! We have been struggling with being in a new place while our hearts are still with the kids in the orphanage, but God is going great things! Living in the orphanage with the kids was such an amazing experience. It was so awesome when the kids would just come and knock on our door and ask us to come out and play. The children were so precious! We had so much fun playing and loving on them.

One day Lindsey was with some of the kids (keep in mind, she is our senior intern) and they were eating leaves and they have her some. And yes, she definetely ate them. Later she came and told us about it and that they tasted like grapes. We thought she was crazy, but of course we tried them and they were dang good!

There was one boy named Christion that was extremley shy and always alone. All the other kids wanted to play and hug us, but he wanted nothing to do with us. We started to worry about him and were sad that he would just rather be alone. Around the third day we were there he was sitting close to me and started scooting closer and closer. There was another boy sitting in my lap and as soon as he got up Christion ran over and hopped in my lap. After that he was so open to us, and it was good to see him finally be okay with others showing him love. Most of the kids we would usually be working with during the VBS were gone to America. So our plans were completley flipped around and we had the littlest kids, kindergarteners, and the oldest kids. We were a little stressed as we had to re-strategize everything completeley, but God had better plans. We got to build relationships with the older kids. They are definetley the hardest to reach out to, and usually get no attention from the groups coming through. With the girls we had a make over day where we did hair, nails, and make-up, and went out shopping. We played soccer and stayed up late talking with the boys. We still got to do VBS with the kidnergarteners so everything worked out great. We are missing those kids and they are in our hearts forever!

We are now with the Longview team and it has been crazy awesome to be with some Americans. We make Latvia much, much louder. They have been great, and some of them are on their seventh trip to Latvia! Their dedications to Latvia is so amazing to see. We started our sports camps today and we are expecting it to grow to around 300 kids by the end of the week. All of these kids are just off the street and are a rough crowd to handle. We all see how it all goes, but today went well. I got to play some basketball, which I have missed. I'll just say that my basketball team was full of the kids versus the guys from Longview and well.... Team Latvia dominated Team USA. We are looking forward to see the work that God does within these kids. We feel blessed that God wants to use us as his tools.

Please keep us in your prayers! Much Love!

Latvia Ladies,

  Allie, Dala, Shandi, and Lindsey

P.s. Last night we got to go out into the Baltic Sea.... yes... be jealous!

Kenya - Week Two

We have finished another week in Nairobi. This week we worked at the BCC (Baptist Children’s Center) which is both a school and an orphanage. We worked with about 170 students at the school each day. We worked in all of the classes (tailoring, nursery, pre-unit, class 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). We also helped cook and serve lunch in the kitchen and assisted in the medical clinic.
The BCC is a pretty popular place for those who travel with Buckner to Kenya, so they were used to visitors—especially “mizungus,” the term here for white person. When our van drives by, kids say “Mizungus! Mizungus!” or “How are you? How are you?” because we apparently say that a lot. It’s one of our favorite things to hear and we have gotten used to it.

We did not get to spend as much time as we would have liked to at the BCC—only 4 days. We got to play with the children during their break time, taught them lessons and bible verses, and served them food and snacks. The children there are well taken care of—they receive breakfast, a mid-morning snack of porridge, lunch, and dinner. We were really glad to see children getting several meals a day.

We were not completely sure which of the children we worked with at the school were the orphans that live at the BCC—there are currently 47 of them, and their capacity is 48. They have male and female “dormitories,” with no more than 12 beds in a dorm (it’s a large room with their beds and a closet space for each). They live with a dorm parent that takes care of them—sweet, loving people.

They have a farm there as well and grow lots of foods. Also, a church is located in almost the center of the area. Between all of these projects (school, orphanage, kitchen, farming, medical clinic) there are many hands involved to keep the BCC running. We enjoyed meeting these people and learning about their area. They told us stories about the recent violence and how it effected them and their families. They told us about Kenyan foods and people and things that we could only learn from them. It was fun to visit with them and learn more about the country we are in.

A special bond was formed between our intern group and the girls in the tailoring class, who ranged in age from 15-23. They worked hard to learn a skill to use in their community. They have never had a single student not pass the final exam at the end of the program in its 4-year history. The teacher is an amazing woman who shares her passion for the Lord with these girls, because she knows she has much more than just sewing to teach them. She has fostered a family with these girls and it was beautiful to be a part of. They worked until 2 p.m. each day, then cleaned and had a time of devotion. They invited us one day and we were amazed!!!! They sang beautiful songs in English and Swahili to the Lord and we were in awe of their talents. They sounded like a practiced gospel choir—it was too beautiful for us to even record with our cameras…we just have to remember what the six of us got to witness each afternoon in that room. The girls wanted to make us skirts, so we bought fabric and brought it to them. The last day, they gave us our very own, custom-made African skirts! It was so much fun and definitely a priceless keepsake.

We also bonded instantly with the children in the younger classes. They are the most welcoming to all visitors—they run at us with no reserve! They play, laugh, joke, pose for pictures—they are instant best friends! The nursery teacher has 30 3-4 year olds in her class….and we complain about 15+ kids in a daycare room!

Friday was our final day at the BCC. We gave each child some gifts, donated items to the medical clinic, and gave items for the orphanage to use (books, sports equipment, card games, etc). We know it’s not much, but we also are aware it has been a long time since teams have been able to come over from the U.S. One worker told us it is good for the kids to see us (visitors from other countries) because the kids know the country is at peace and it is safe enough for visitors to enter. It breaks your heart to hear that, but I was so glad that the children could have that reassurance again. We are so blessed that we have faith in a God that knows no boundaries--his love is available for all, everywhere!

Next week we will be in Kitale, where we will be with the Seed of Hope orphanage/school for one week and then a team from the U.S. will come for part of the following week to do some medical work. It should be a good experience.

Thanks again for your support and prayers! We are blessed to have such great people at home lifting up the work we do each day!

Alison Grooms

Greetings from Kenya!

(Originally sent July 20)

This is such a beautiful country with such beautiful people and we have enjoyed every minute of our time here! God is so good and faithful and has allowed us the opportunity to meet so many precious Kenyans already in the past week. We worked at the Kariobangi Baptist Youth Center and it truly touched our hearts and changed our lives.

Our group got to rotate around to all of the different classes and we were truly blessed! We taught the children new songs, games, and scripture, and they taught us about the love of Jesus Christ. I have never seen so many beautiful, smiling faces as I did this past week in the slums.

As we drove down the road each day to the school, we passed hundreds of hurting people. The children were such an encouragement to us as they lined the streets to shout, "How are you? How are you?" We played with the babies, read Bible stories to the children, and did manicures and pedicures for the young women. In the middle of such poverty, despair, and darkness, this school is such a bright light! We made scripture verse books for these children who are so eager to hide the Word of God in their hearts. Our prayer is that they can continue to grow in their knowledge of Jesus and continue to love Him more. The faces of the children lit up as we read them stories about Jonah, David and Goliath, Moses, the Good Samaritan, and the story of Jesus.

Several of the children at the school were concerned when they saw some of us had freckles. They asked us what they were and if they hurt! It was quite a sight to see the 90 children in the baby classes fit onto six mattresses each afternoon for naptime. Each member of our team was truly touched this week as we were able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to love on these children, to play with them, teach them songs, and teach them about the Bible.

Tears flowed freely as we pulled away from the school for the last time. We are trusting that God will bring more workers behind us to have the blessing of working with these precious children. They will be in our hearts forever. Psalm 89 says, "Your love, God, is my song, and I'll sing it! I'm forever telling everyone how faithful you are. I'll never quit telling the story of your love!"

By Mandi Wheat

Pace from Targu Mures

Pace!

As I sit down to write about our ministry this week, I am overwhelmed by so many thoughts I would like to share. Kim said it well when she said, "I never knew I could feel so many emotions at the same time!" This week, I laughed louder, loved deeper and cried harder as I walked the path God has chosen for me as an intern here in Romania.

Monday, we packed up all of our things and traveled to Targu Mures where we ministered to children in the nearby villages of Ceuas and Santana. In Ceuas, we spent each morning in a different group home playing with special needs children ranging from 3 to 15 years of age. As I sat and played with the children Tuesday morning, the Lord filled me with peace and an inexpressible joy. I couldn't stop smiling. Despite their disabilities, these children wore their hearts on their faces. Their joy was infectious and we had an amazing time, smiling, laughing and playing with them. In the other homes we visited, many of the children were more severely disabled. On Thursday, I sat on a couch in the living room of the group home playing with two of the children. I looked across the room and noticed a boy who lay curled up in the fetal position hugging five or six stuffed animals to his chest. Two huge building blocked hung limply from the middle fingers of each of his hands as he lay alone, isolated from the rambunctious children around him. The various stuffed animals gathered in such a way that I couldn't see his face and yet my heart ached for him. I knew in that moment that the Lord had placed a burden on my heart for this sweet child. When I had the chance to go over to him, he shied away from my touch but in the instant he glanced up at me, I was captured by the myriad of emotion and fear that veiled his face. His mouth twisted in a way that resembled a wince, baring a mouth of crooked teeth, many missing in odd places. Although I could have been discouraged by his withdrawal, I made a promise in my heart not to give up on this child.

Thirty minutes later, after leading some of the other children in a craft, we all went outside to toss beach balls and blow magic bubbles. While running from child to child, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, the lone boy walking around the driveway. He didn't attempt to engage in the activities with any of the other children, nor did he get near enough to any of the balls to play with them. At one point, I noticed he was watching me with a balloon so I took it to him. He ran from it, all the while clutching his stuffed animals and building blocks with a fierce protection. I began to wonder if there was anything I would be able to do to reach him in the little time we had left. I would not have been able to fathom what God had in store.

After one of the smaller boys demonstrated his mastery of riding a bicycle, he jumped excitedly into my arms in a show of triumph. As I put him down to get ready to go inside, I was surprised to turn and see the lone boy looking beseechingly at me, arms raised high in a plea for me to pick him up. A deep hunger shot out from his eyes and I was so overcome by emotion, I couldn't speak. Although my arms were weary from lifting children from three days straight, I lifted him up. It was only by the grace of God that I was able to manage such a feat for this boy was one of the largest in the group! I was so overcome by joy and as I looked at the grin that spread across his face, I knew in that moment that it was God's love at work there on that driveway. I carried him into the house and placed him on my lap as the other children and interns circled up to play a hand-game. As I cradled him like a baby, his eyes bore into my soul and I knew they would be etched on my heart forever.

In one of our devotionals this week, we discussed the "unforgettable" moments we would encounter on our journey. This boy was an unforgettable one for me. As he looked into my eyes, I placed my hands on him and prayed that the Lord would bless him, comfort him, protect him and love him. As he watched the other children play, his solumn face moved me and I felt compelled to tickle him. His laughter rang out clear and pure, as radiant as the sunshine on a warm summer day. At that moment, I began to wonder why it had to have been at the end of our visit that this boy had experienced such pleasure and then I stopped myself, thankful that his life had been touched, maybe even changed.

As I sit here now, writing this, I want to ask all who read this to pray, not only for this child, but for all of the children who are "the least of these." There are so many children who are in such desperate need of love and affection, with no one to give it to them. In Romania, the conditions of many of the orphan children have improved greatly, however, there is still a great need for all of them. They need someone who, on a daily basis, can give them the love and affection that they need. I pray fervently for those who will follow in our footsteps and will be able to continue God's work here in Romania.

In the afternoons this week, our ministry took a different path as we spent time teaching VBS and playing games with five boys in Santana. These boys were excited to hear our stories and participate in crafts and games as well. They were eager to learn more about us and had a fantastic time singing praise and worship songs with Gabi, Matt, Kim and I while Orsi played the guitar. Orsi, our Romanian translator has been so gracious in helping us to learn Romanian. It has been so exciting! The boys were especially delighted when we could sing one of their new favorite songs. We have fun putting the hand motions and words together and everyone ends up laughing! Because we would also like to share this song with all of you back home, here are the words; good luck trying to learn them!


(to the tune of the "hokey pokey")

Dreapta sus,
dreapta jos,
dreapta sus,
si scutura frumos,
Da-i lui Isus inima si bine ai sa-fi,
Asta-i tot copii!

In addition to our ministry, our missions coordinator Gabi has been so gracious in planning fun meals and activities for us. The food here in Romania is fantastic! While Jeremy was here visiting from the States, we went to Excalibur, a medieval restaurant where they brought out our food on a GIGANTIC platter complete with full chickens, sausages, pork, ribs, potato wedges, and topped with bananas! The arrangement was absolutely magnificent.

Yesterday, continuing with the medieval theme, Gabi took us to a nearby village Sighisoara where we experienced all the festivities of a medieval festival. The town fortress was absolutely beautiful with colorful buildings, singing, dancing, tons of food and booths set up with all kinds of Romanian crafts, clothing, pottery and other goods to buy. Along the way, we passed a church where some of the Harry Potter movies were filmed and the views from every direction were absolutely breathtaking! Romania is such a beautiful country. I feel so blessed to be able to share God's love here. I am so thankful for everything he has done in my life and the lives of the other interns, volunteers and children. I pray that the Lord will continue to renew our minds and give us undivided hearts that long to serve him in each and every moment we spend here.

God bless you and keep you. Pace!

Lauren

Goodbye Cusco, Hello Lima!

We saw God do big things while we were in the lovely city of Cusco! While we were there we felt at home and blessed every single day by seeing God at work in His precious children. Working alongside the Red Dot construction team was amazing as well! Their hearts for seeing God receive glory while serving the "least of these" was something our whole team was able to learn from and be encouraged by. They were passionate in everything they did, whether they were laying tile in the girl's dorms or doing crafts during VBS at the boy's home, they always gave everything they had. Red Dot we hope you are enjoying your time back at home with your families and are forever changed by your week in Cusco. We are enjoying our books, CD's and candy!

The children at Buen Pastor and Jesus Mi Luz were full of joy, hope, innocence, laughter, hugs, kisses and love. The most exciting thing we were able to witness was how hungry they were for

God's Word and for truth in their lives. The boys literally begged us for Bibles every single day, thank goodness we were able to leave enough for them on the last day we were there!!! One reason for their intense hunger for hearing about God and His plan for their life, is Giugliana Mendoza Fry, aka Julie. God has given her many, many gifts, one of them being a passion for drama and storytelling. She told a story from the life of Joseph everyday and also two Max Lucado stories. She doesn't just tell the stories though, she makes them come alive! All the children anxiously await their time to hear Julie teach and they become completely mesmorzied when she begins to speak. It is beautiful! The main idea we wanted the children to know in their hearts was that God has a big, huge, grand, master plan for their lives. It doesn't matter if we can't understand or see why everything in our lives has happened, whether the events bring us joy or sadness, but that God will use it for His purpose and glory as He did in Joseph's life. We talked lots about the importance of having an open heart and be willing to let God use you in big ways as well. Our time at the boy's home and the girl's home showed us just how important these orphans were in God's eyes and the ability to experiance true joy in serving in the name of Jesus.

I think it can all be agreed upon that the last two days of our time in Cusco were the best days! On Friday we had the priveledge of throwing a huge pizza party at the girl's home! We had a band, way too much pizza, and a cake! We ate under a huge green

tent and then danced. Some of the girls had never had pizza before and they loved it! After that we took the girl's to see their renovated dorms, there were lots of oooohhhsss and aaahhhhhhhhssssss and mucho gracias. The new tile floor and painted walls looked wonderful. The girl's were so thankful for all of the hard work the men had done. Next, we loaded up five girls into our bus who attend the University in Cusco. They are highly motivated, extremely intelligent, beautiful girls who were now too old to actually be staying at the orphanage. When Red Dot was notified about this they worked with Buckner to create a transitional home for them where they could continue to pursue their dreams and be cared for. We drove them to this gorgeous house that is located very close to the Univeristy and got to witness the first time they walked into their new home!!! They were so excited, overwhelmed and thankful that they began to shake and cry. We had a big time praising God and exploring their house. There is no doubt that the girls know that people believe in them and that our God is a big God.

Then came the best day ever! On Saturday we threw a huge carnival at the boy's home and invited the girl's home over! The carnival had game booths with prizes, popcorn, candy, two jump houses, rides, candy apples, hot dogs, cotton candy, a trampoline and birthday cakes. The children ran around to all the games throwing pies, playing putt-putt, getting their faces painted, getting their picture taken at the photo booth, and eating yummy treats! There was so much for them to do and experiance. At the end, each child was called by name and received a gift bag filled with some pretty neat things, including the book, You are Mine by Max Lucado. The children were prayed over and reminded that they have a Heavenly Father who does not view them as orphans but as His children. A God who loves them enough to send Jesus to walk among us, to love us, and to redeem us. Our day was bittersweet as we had to say goodbye after the carnival. While many tears were shed, we praised God for our time serving, loving and learning from His children.

We are now in Lima on the next leg of our journey. This week we are working at a community center in a poverty-stricken area. Again, we are amazed at the joy, hope and innocence we see in the faces of the children. Please pray for health, energy and the gospel to be presented clearly while we are here. Much love to all family and friends!!!

First Week in Guatemala!!

Our amazing group of women includes

Kelly: who we nicknamed Mom...shes our sweet leader

Rachel: nicknamed Ranger Rache!...thanks to her loving father....haha

Malerie: she´s been here since May 30th! So she´s a big help to our trip

Molly: who we lovingly call guacaMOLLY

Sadie: who is like the youngest sister of the group...shes awesome

Vivien: she plays the oldest sister role.....we simply call her VIV.

Liz: who is our sweet southern spunky perfection of a chica!

and myself, Gina: they call me GENE....

As you can see, we´ve already begun to grow close to eachother as friends. We had been here for 4 days and we were all amazed how it seemed like we had known eachother for years!!! God´s pretty awesome like that I guess....:) Well, I guess I´ll just jump right into the feeling and amazingness of our first week...

We drove 6 hours to HueHue, in the mountains of Guatemala.....we were so tired but could hardly sleep a wink bc of the GORGEOUS scenery displayed as we drove on the curvy roads. (o yes, and by the way, for all you parents.....they drive CRAZY over here.....even in the mountains....full speed ahead is their moto!!....so NO WORRIES)...moving on....We stayed in a great hotel there in HueHue which was surprisingly very modern and beautiful....NOW for the important part.....we arrived at the orphanage and all the children swarmed the bus as we drove in!! We were all so ready to meet and fall in love with every single one of these children. IN FACT, if the roles were switched and the children had been in the bus and we on the outside...I´m sure we would have swarmed the bus just as they did to us in anticipation of meeting eachother.

The day started with hugs and picking up children, and just getting to know them each with smiles and laughter and games! It was amazing! It didn´t take long to notice that this orphanage was very much like a large family instead of some cold building to stay in. The older children cared and loved the younger ones. Some of the children even had their mom staying there at the orphanage with them......it was SO beautiful.

Every single night of this past week, we got the chance to go back to the orphanage (Fundacion Salvacion) after dinner and tuck the kids into bed, praying with them, singing them to sleep, or just laying with them in the their beds until they fell asleep. These are moments that we interns will never forget.....

During the day! It was all about games, fun, laughter, pictures, VBS, songs, painting nails and doing hair!! It was a blast......Each of us had one particular orphan child that we grew close to during our time there and on the last night, parting with them was the most agonizing thing many of us have ever had to experience.....but trusting God we have been praying for those children that we grew to love and care for so much every day...trusting that God has them in His perfect care and plan. During this week, we met our translators who are 4 young men, all about 20 years old who are in a Guatemalan Christian Punk Band called Mosquito Farm. They are the RELIENT K of Guatemala. Their hearts and lives were so beautiful to watch as they cared for their own countries less fortunate and orphaned. We have all come to be very close friends with them in a way that has been SUCH a blessing to each of our lives. We have also grown much closer to eachother, encouraging eachother with prayer. Sharing tears, stories, and testimonies almost every night.

This experience has brought us closer to our Father....our Heavenly Father....our FIRST PARENT. He was the FIRST one to visit us while we were orphans spiritually. He is teaching each of our hearts what TRUE religion and christianity is all about. We could even leave after this one week, and never be the same bc of the depth and impact that Christ has made in our hearts during this week, BUT......He still has more for us to do here! So we´re very excited!....a little tired.....a little tired and weary at times bc of the different food and what not.....BUT, so ready and willing to go to the next place to meet the next kids....to fall in love with them JUST as much.....

this is what God has called us to do......this is what He calls all of us to.....we appreciate your prayers from the bottom of our hearts! They matter and help us stay strong throughout all of this, so keep it up!!! God Bless you!!!

Until Next Week,

Loving and Missing You All,

Kelly, Gina, Rachel, Sadie, Malerie, Molly, Vivien, and Liz

Salut from Romania!

Salut!

Hello from Romania! We have been here for a week now and how the time has flown by. After arriving in Bucharest last Saturday, our journey continued as we traveled north through the Carpathian Mountains and across Transylvania to Tarnaveni. We have spent the last week teaching the Gypsy children VBS at the Fundatia Buckner Day Center in the mornings as well as visiting group homes in the afternoon. The children at the Day Center, or CDC, are as precious and rambunctious as can be! Although initially they were a little timid to meet this strange group of smiling Americans, they quickly warmed to our smiles and were more than eager to share their thoughts and hugs with us.

When I prepared for this trip, I asked that the Lord would use me as a vessel to share his love with the children of the world. It was, and is, my prayer that hearts would be touched. I knew that I would experience a wealth of emotions but I didn't realize the extent to which these children would move me. I had hoped to bring them joy and love but did not expect the generous love that I have received in turn. In the mornings, we teach 3-6 year olds. Yesterday, we began with a Bible lesson and two children beckoned me to come sit with them. One little girl greeted me with a wide grin. She reached up to hug me with arms spread wide and tiny hands, each adorned with a sticker she had received the prior day. Here, these stickers, or "stampile" are dear treasures so I was humbed and overwhelmed with emotion when she reached to remove one of her treasures and presented it to me as a gift. I was so touched by her generosity. As I thanked her in Romanian, she responded, cu placere, or "with pleasure"-and that's exactly what she meant. The smile that ran from ear to ear was full of joy and reflected a heart of love. She was more than happy to give of something that she had so little because the love she had in her heart was so great. She then grabbed my hand while a little boy next to me reached up to put his arm around my shoulder. For the entire story, he streched his tiny arm up mine and placed his hand behind my shoulder. While the little boy may have been one of the oldest of the children in the group, his display of affection was so pure. He smiled as I put my arm around him and the display of contentment that covered his face conveyed that he simply wanted to be loved. I looked down at the little girl who rested her head on my lap, and I knew that she too yearned for affection. As she clutched my hand and drew it to her chest, my heart was broken and began to overflow with love for the children that surrounded me.

I feel there is so much I am learning from these children. Their eagerness to learn and their joyous smiles could truly move mountains. I am humbled by the Gypsy children's generous affections and so thankful to have the oportunity to share God's word with them. Each and every day that I spend with them is truly a blessing! I know that my life has been touched and I pray that theirs may be as well.

Pace! (peace)

Lauren

Originally posted 7/16/08

Hey America! It is Jenna and we are in an internet cafe so I am finally allowed to write the blog! We finally got to Nairobi, Kenya Saterday night after our very long flight of about 18 hours. Sunday morning our driver, Joel, took us to the BCC where we worshiped at a children's church. There was over 50 kids packed into a small chapel and they sang as loud as the possibly could while still in harmony. It was just absolutely beautiful. The first song was "How Great thou Art" but in Swahili and i think it is safe to say we all cried. Then one of the Sunday school classes of about 20 went up to the front and sang I've got joy joy joy joy down in my heart and then the next verse they sang I've got peaces peaces peaces peaces down in my heart. It was soo cute! Monday we took a tour of the Highbridge Baptist School in the middle of Korigocho slum. We are there everyday this week teaching the kids their regular lesson plans of math, science, S.S. etc. as well as Bible verses and Christian kids songs. It is heartbreaking knowing these kids have nothing and are so sick from all of the sanitation issues because these kids are the smartest and most joyful children we have ever met. Friday we are having a makeshift olympics of sports games all day which we are all very excited about! Thank you for your support before and during this trip! We love you!
Jenna

Chau from Latvia

Originally posted 7/16/08

Allie here and we are here in Jelgava, Latvia. That is said like Yell-ge-va, yes yes I know you had it all wrong. We got here not really sure of what all was in store for us. All that we had thought and planned was quickly changed. We have to flip around all our plans, but in the end works out perfectly. We are all getting used to the time change, although we were looking pretty rough those first few days. We are all eating well, some of the stuff we are quite sure what it is, but it tastes good so I just don't ask and hope for the best. The weirdest thing is here is the light. It doesn't get dark outside until 11 o'clock at night, and the sun comes up at around 4 a.m. So that is really hard to get used to, but it works out good because we play outside all night outside. How awesome would it be to be and kid and live here? The kids here are amazing. The language barrier is kind of hard sometimes, but we all work through it. We start off our mornings with the youngest kids, around the ages 2-3. We just play little games, really just love on them, give them some attention, and give their leaders some rest. Next we spend time with the more middle age kids who are always surprising us with their sports skills, and English words. Then, we go and set up for our vacation bible school. We do the bible lesson, a craft then play games for the rest of the day really. We are all going to be in amazing shape when we return, we are constantly running. At night we hang out with the oldest boys and play soccer or whatever I already have a bruise on my shin to prove it. Tonight we planned a big game of capture the flag with them that is going to be a lot of fun. We are all living in the actual orphanage so we can be with the kids all day and night. Sometimes they just come knock on our door and ask when we are coming out to play. Also in our orphanage there is a crisis center. There are about four kids up there who we also get to spend time with. Each kid has their own story and ways of doing things. We are all trying to learn and adapt to each one. It has been so good so far, and we look forward to the rest of this week and next week. After that we are on the move again. I will try to write again soon, but we don't have much access to the internet. Now I am sitting in a store while the girls are shopping for things to make sock puppets for our skit. Pray for our energy as we have a long ways still to go.

To friends and families:
We are missing and loving you

Can't wait to see what else God has in store
Much love
Allie and the Latvian Ladies

Buenos Dias!

Originally posted 7/14/08

Hola! Greetings from Erika, Amanda, Nydia, Kristi and Marianne (July/Peru Interns)! Everyday we wake up and give God praise that we are in Peru. We consider it to be a huge blessing and privilege to be serving the children in the orphanages alongside the Buckner staff, our friends and sisters in Christ. They have welcomed us and made us feel at home in their beautiful country and shown us so much grace and love. While we are in Cusco for the week we are also working with another team, who are wonderful as well. They own a construction company called Red Dot that is in Texas. While they are here they will be painting the dormitories at the girl’s orphanage and putting all new tile in the dormitories as well. Their wives have also accompanied them to Peru and have planned the most fun, exciting, God-glorifying week! We will be putting on a VBS program at the girl’s orphanage everyday this week. The focus will be on forgiveness. We will study the story of Joseph, and all the struggles and hardships he went through. We will discuss how the events in his life, men meant for evil, but God meant for good. Towards the end of the week, the children will see that even though Joseph had been so hurt and betrayed by his brothers, he was able to offer them forgiveness because of his faith in God. We have never walked where these girls have walked and cannot imagine all the ways they have been hurt and betrayed, but we are praying that God will use this story in their life. That they will see how much God loves them and has forgiven them for falling short and we hope that they can let go of some of their anger, bitterness and hurt that we know they must feel. Please pray for meaningful discussions. We will also be building relationships through sports camp, crafts, and science experiments! The women from the Red Dot team have seriously gone above and beyond. We have never seen so many suitcases filled with gifts, candy, clothes, Bibles, books and toys. We are also planning a huge carnival for Saturday. We will have rides, bouncing machines, hotdogs, cotton candy machines, games, prizes and a DJ for plenty of dancing. Yesterday we visited the girl’s orphanage for the first time. The precious girls were dressed up like princesses and ran to the bus to greet us. As we walked off the bus they hugged and kissed us. They were full of smiles and giggles. They grabbed our hands and took us on a tour of their home. We were seated around a stage and they brought us cake and sprite. Then we were treated to the most beautiful dances that the girls had prepared with love! The girls are so talented and know wonderful Peruvian dances. They told us how important it was to them that we came to visit with them for a whole week because usually groups only stop in for a day. We also were shown their workshops where they learn dance, chorus, cooking and hair styling. Our biggest treat was when they took us to their store where they have made purses, scarves, sweaters, hats, mittens, jewelry and many gorgeous crafts. They know how to create so much! We also have visited the boy’s orphanage where we will spend our afternoons. They also greeted us with cultural dances and brought us snacks. We spent most of our time playing soccer and volleyball. We are praising God that hugs, kisses, smiles and laughter are universal! We have translators, but are wishing we could speak fluent Spanish as well. Please pray that God would show His perfect strength through our weakness, that we will build lasting relationships and that we will make much of the name of Jesus during our week. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from not being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

Liepaja Adventures

Originally posted 7/10/08

Ciao! I'm Tiffani Horowitz, former leader of the June interns during our stay in Latvia. It was very sad to see the rest of my team fly back to the states at the end of last month. However, I had the incredible opportunity of continuing my journey by traveling to Liepaja, where I worked at a Day Center and assisted the staff in planning for their upcoming youth camp. The Center is located in a low-income, at-risk community beside a Naval Port. The Pastor and Buckner staff saw the need for children in this area to have a safe place where they could develop their social skills, learn about God’s Word, and receive a nutritious meal. These are just a few of the things that go on at this amazing program.

One of the first things I noticed while working with the staff is their genuine love for the kids they serve. The teachers not only shared a Bible lesson and taught songs to the children, but they were outside playing badminton, throwing Frisbees, and truly experiencing life with them during their time together. The Day Center has a fantastic program, and the Pastor and staff give 110% to the welfare of the children’s spiritual and physical well-being. I can truly see the joy that this brings to the kids by there habit of arriving early and waiting until the last minute to leave. My heart has been blessed just to witness the impact this interaction is making on the young people in this area.


My heart was greatly touched when on the Fourth of July, during a Youth night, Zanda the Buckner representative yelled from the window for me to close my eyes. Surprisingly, she came outside to present me with a home-made, strawberry, flag cake in honor of our country’s holiday. We proceeded to eat our cake and sip tea. It was a lovely night!

Summer 2008 will always be remembered as the time God showed me a people, a place, and a passion that are incomparable to anything I have ever experienced. Forever I have been changed by the lives I have encountered during my stay in Latvia.

Tuesday July 8th

Originally posted 7/8/08

Today after breakfast, our group headed off to the Korogocho Slum area for a couple of hours.

After a powerful prayer in the Pastor's office, we spread out in a couple of classes. From the "baby class" to fifth grade, 86:12 members told stories, sung songs, and played games with the children at the school. The teachers were very gracious in translating. Big favorites of the kids were hokey pokey and the "ninja game." We found that the kids at Korogocho know a lot of the same songs as the kids at the BCC. We plan to do some type of program at Korogocho later this week.After a filling lunch at Pizza Inn, we went straight to the BCC. There we split into two groups to do bible story and craft. Today's lesson was Jesus feeds 5,000. We worked with First and Second grade. Its always tricky to figure out just how much English the children understand. Some are shy and some just have no idea what you are saying. During "field time" or recess, we played with bubbles, chalk, and of course, fuuuuutbooool. Now, we are at a mall about to have dinner.

by Anna Casey

Our Kenyan Adventure

Originally posted 7/7/08


When we landed on Wednesday night and drove through the city, we were all anxious about what was in store for us these next few weeks and also a little scared just being in the city. The next morning we woke up and went to the Baptist Children's Center (BCC) in a slum area of Nairobi. We met the manager Tony and took a short of tour of facilities but soon got distracted playing with the kids. On Friday we went back to BCC and played with the kids some more before helping in various roles. Some of us helped in the classrooms of the schools while others cleaned dishes or helped in the medical clinic. At BCC we all feel very safe and so do the kids that we've talked to about it. On Saturday we actually did VBS material with the kids (music, bible story, and crafts). They all really seemed to enjoy it and what surprised us is how obedient and polite the kids are. We all agreed that it was one of the best days of VBS we had ever done. On Sunday we went to Parklands Baptist Church in Nairobi. A few of us attended the youth service while everybody else attended the regular service. We really enjoyed the youth service and we even sang "Mighty To Save" a capella for them. Later in the day we went to feed giraffes and then to a restaurant called The Carnivore, where they serve just about every type of meat you can think of. This morning we went to the Korogocho slum which houses almost half a million people in 3 square miles. The conditions there are horrible, but the school we will be working out this week is secluded and we all feel safe there. The kids here and at BCC are very cute and love to hang out with us. The rest of this week we will be working at this school in the morning and then BCC in the afternoons. So far the trip has been great and we are all enjoying it. Keep praying for strength and courage for all of us. We miss you all!!!
by Sumner Warren, VRBC