Food and Spas

Keep track with the girls by following Allie's blog!

Please continue praying for our girls as they begin to get worn out from the work they have been doing.

Days 1-2 in Moldova

Adventures in Moldova.

Check in with the group to hear their amazing stories from the past couple of days.

https://allieinmoldova.wordpress.com/

Thanks for the posts, Allie.  Keep 'em coming!

Safe and Sound

Our team has safely arrived in Moldova.  This year, I (Amy) am not with the team in Moldova, but I will be posting any updates from the team.  Also, one of our team members is writing her own blog!  Feel free to follow Allie to hear more of the great stories!

Prayers are welcome!

http://allieinmoldova.wordpress.com/

Pace.

A New Year and A New Team

As 2013 is quickly approaching, the ladies of Lipscomb are again forming a team that will travel to Moldova this coming summer.  Similar to our previous trips, our team of 12 young women will be leaving their country and traveling to the poorest country in Europe to share with the people in Moldova the hope, love and peace found only in Christ-- focusing specifically on women who are at risk to become victims of human trafficking, or women who have been rescued from human trafficking.

This year, we will again be partnering with Justice Mercy International and Beginning of Life. After an off-season of change, our 2013 team is excited about what this year will bring to the people of Moldova.  Our team consists of the following 12 women that will be serving:

Jenny Stites (Team Leader)
Heather Hall (Student Team Leader and Trip Veteran)
Nicole Cook (Trip Veteran)
Kelly King
Ahanna Reyes
Allie Bergeron
Allie Salmen
Brina Platt
Lauren Ervin
Michaela Lusk
Rachel Tockstein
Whitney Ray

To find out more of the specifics about our trip, go to the "About Our Mission" page, read some of our previous posts or follow our blog to receive updates.  Please begin praying for our team and our mission as we set out on a new year.

Blessings to you and your families over the holidays.  Pace (Peace in Romanian).

We built a Stadium

Today was back to the old grind. 

Yesterday we had another restful day, going to a different monastery. Despite a few (ask Alex about it) mosquito bites and the stair-master deluxe that took a few of us to the top of a mountain, the day was relaxing and a unique experience.  As soon as we got back to Chisinau, we shopped for dinner supplies.  Last night was our chance cook dinner for Victor and his family (the owners of the house we are staying in) Borris (our bus driver), all the Grace House girls and Boys2Leaders guys.  We fixed them a homemade fiesta!  Kelli and Nicole were on salsa duty, Kelsey and Autumn were in charge of queso, Josh and Brian (a professional chef!) were on the chicken and enchilada sauce duty, while Alex and April rolled the enchiladas, but not before Alex and Breanna made non-alcoholic Sangarias, Annie and Amy made delicious homemade brownies that ended up being like molten lava cakes, and last, but certainly not least, Lisa and Heather made everything look pretty and set the table for everyone.  The homemade fiesta turned out spectacular.  Everyone loved it and we had a blast spending time rushing around the kitchen with each other. Cooking dinner quickly became a team favorite.  All of our guests were overjoyed at our special dinner.


As I mentioned at the beginning, today was back to the old work grind.  This morning we awoke before the rooster (literally) and made our way out to a smaller village to help build a stadium.  Honestly, none of us new what to expect after our original meeting with Beginning of Life when they informed us that we would be building a stadium, but it ended up being a local soccer field made complete with some playground equipment.  Moldova Work Camp became the official title as we painted our hearts out all around the stadium.  By the end, we were all covered in oil-based paint, but we stood in the midst of a sparkling new stadium that was sure to host it's first match in a few hours when the school kids came home. 

After Moldova Work Camp, we headed out to another small town to distribute food bags to local families.  The village was absolutely gorgeous, as were the people who inhabited it.  The small town pastor and his family told us about how they started the church in the town and the many leaps of faith they took along the way.  Then, they led us in two different groups to distribute the bags that were filled with basic necessities.  The joy, relief and thankfulness on the people's faces is something that we will never forget.  These people were often living with serious illnesses or several kids and had nothing to their names, but we gave them something they desperately needed.  God showed us how to give everything and to give joyfully.  Emotions were high, as the small village tugged on our heart strings.  The day was a blessing for our team to participate in tangibly meeting the needs of the surrounding community.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in... 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matt. 25:35, 40

Camp day!

The last few days have been a lot of work.  We have been rising early and worked hard all day.  Yesterday was especially tiring.

By 7am we had already eaten breakfast, left the house and were on our way to camp.  The Beginning of Life is starting to have different celebrations for the end of the year for various schools.  This Friday was the first one.  We got to the camp close to 8 and began setting up and getting ready for kids to arrive. It was freezing that early in the morning.  We all stood there huddled together trying to get warm, but it was so cold! The kids were supposed to arrive at 8:45, but we were working on Moldova time, so they ended up getting there at about 9:45.  Once they got there they had a short Bible lesson and then they split up and did a scavenger hunt type of activity.  (It was hard for us to ever really understand what was happening because it was all in Romanian.  We just manned the stations.)  Each of us had our own duties and games to man.  It was so fun, but a whirlwind.  The camp even had a rock wall, high ropes course and a low ropes course.  For lunch we got to picnic as a team at a small table. Then we became the entertainment.  They divided the kids into girls and boys and sent some of the older girls to us to craft.  Needless to say, after this trip our team might be crafted out.  We made some t-shirt bracelets and magazine necklaces for a little while.  The girls really enjoyed it, and the girls were not near as crazy as we expected them to be. We were supposed to have a "concert" after crafts, but it ended up being a couple of games and one of the leaders of Beginning of Life doing some mind-blowing tricks and of course the Americans getting up on stage entertaining the crowd. Don't fret, Moldova has been introduced to the Wobble, compliments of Lipscomb University's Moldova mission team! After our fun day at the camp, we came back home and got to spend quality time with the Grace House Girls, doing yet again some more crafts.  It is such a blessing to be surrounded by such amazing women. 

Today was a more relaxing and rebuilding day.  We have been working hard and today was a chance for us to let loose a little bit.  We had a late breakfast and ventured to the most beautiful place in the world.  We went to this cave monastery called Orhei, where an old monk lives and takes care of the place.  You are able to go inside the cave that is in the side of a mountain and it brings you out onto this cliff that overlooks a river and the surrounding hills and valley.  There is nothing but God's creation in this place.  Several of us spent the majority of the day sitting on the side of the cliff reading and spending solo time with our creator.  We encountered God in that place.  Tonight we got the chance to spend some more time with some kids from the Beginning of Life who are at risk, but this was more relaxing.  We shared some information about America and even sang the Star Spangled Banner, then we just got to play games and mingle with the group.  After we finished there we went to a local coffee shop where we watched our friend, Nicoli play the guitar.  He is an amazing musician and the coffee shop wasn't half bad either!  Today was an amazing day and a Godsend for our tired team.

New pictures are up on the photo album page. 

Shh girls, be quiet.

Our dear friend Ed speaks some English, but his favorite phrase is, "Shhh, girls, be quiet."  He may not know much, but loves to tell us to hush (even if we aren't even talking). Today, we heard this saying a lot.  Many of us have taken it upon ourselves to start saying it back to him. So to all of you, Shhh, be quiet, while I tell you about our day.

The morning and afternoon was much like yesterday. We went into schools and taught children how to make friendship bracelets and took funny pictures, while another part of our team went to talk to the teens about healthy relationships, the problems with violence and their goals and dreams. After we were finished at the school, we were sitting in the lobby waiting on the other half of our team to return and some of the teen students who had attended the first session came up to April and Josh who had led the relationship talk and began asking them more questions.  It was really encouraging for us to see that we are not just talking to these kids, but we are truly impacting their lives by sharing part of our stories and giving advice.  Although we are not able to talk openly about God in these sessions (it is a public school and just like in America, religion is not allowed in school) we know that God is speaking through us into the lives of these students so that seeds are being planted and that someday they will come to understand the fullness of the Lord our God.

This afternoon we got to partake in a different activity.  We went back to the Beginning of Life and got to treat some at risk teen girls to a spa day.  None of these girls had ever been to a salon in their life! We set up different stations around the room and offered, hand massages and manicures, feet washing and pedicures, and facial massages.  At first the girls were stand-offish, but soon they began to really love the treatment.  Letting these girls partake in such a luxury was humbling to us.  We truly got to serve them and treat them to what I think Jesus would see as the equivalent of a modern-day feet washing.  These women had never been treated as if they were this beautiful... ever. We got to treat them like princesses and remind them that they are indeed princesses and deserve to be treated as such. We stayed so long fellowshipping with those girls that we actually got kicked out of the room where we were set up, but at the end they were asking for another time that we could hang out with them. We created true, meaningful relationships with these girls.  A few of them even asked us to write them notes.  We made an impact, thanks to God. I pray that we continue to be the hands and feet of God and that they are able to recognize the power within us, the power that drives us and gives us the love that is bursting from our hearts as the love and power of Christ.  I pray that someday these women will look back on today and not see 11 American girls painting their nails and massaging their faces, but rather they see Jesus calling to them, "My daughter, come to me.  You are my princess; you are captivating.  I love you; you are worthy to be loved."  I pray that is the message we left these girls with; I pray we gave them hope in themselves.  I believe that seeds have been planted. 

It always seems to amaze me that even though I try, God cannot be placed inside a box.  He does not fit inside the boundaries of a country or a language.  He is not confined to a hemisphere, continent, language or culture.  He surrounds us-- all of us.  All 6+billion of us.  Tonight I was reminded of his majesty as we worshiped with our brothers and sisters from the Grace House and Boys2Leaders (the boy equivalent of the Grace House).  Despite having different languages we sang the same songs. As they sang in Romanian and us in English, I was moved by the vast power of our God. He is so much bigger than we ever remember.  We also shared some of our favorite scriptures-- them in Romanian and us in English.  Even though we speak different languages and live across the world from one another, even though our struggles are different, even though we live in a completely different culture and society, we are bonded together with one heart for one purpose: to serve and love our God.  Though we read in different languages, we read the same Gospel; we receive the same message and are moved by the same Spirit.  Praise be to God! This reminder was so uplifting and humbling.

Praise be to God.

Faithful Father

Our God is a mighty refuge, a healer and a faithful father. Yesterday we got to taste the mission of Beginning of Life; today we got to actually see the work at hand. 

After our overwhelming day yesterday our team got to spend time talking through what we were feeling.  (Being an all girls team, we have lots of feelings) But through our conversation we got to experience the love of the Lord and identify the places that God is working in the lives of our team.  We know that God has picked us all individually to partake in his Kingdom work in Moldova. Truth is invading our hearts. 

Today we went into the schools where Beginning of Life programs and provides lessons about the dangers of trafficking, but they also teach children to dream, and to become passionate people.  Our job was to be another voice to the teenagers, to help teach them how to dream and to see the importance of having healthy relationships, to unveil the truth about sexuality and to teach about the destruction of violence.

People gawk at the cluster of chatty American girls sauntering all over Moldova, in the schools it was no different.  We split up in two different groups. Most of the group went to help out in 1st grade classrooms. While we were in the classrooms, we helped to teach the kids how to make friendship bracelets.  Our God delivered us and thanks to Brian's ability to speak Russian fluently, we were able to come up with a lesson for the kids to learn.  While they were learning how to make their friendship bracelets, we would pull them out individually or by pairs to come dress up in stereotypical Tennessean garb.  For the first graders, the Goodwill overalls, flannel shirt and Farm Bureau trucker hat, swallowed them but they loved every second of it. When we grabbed them by pairs, they even began to look like mini American Gothic look-a-likes!

While that was happening three of our group members spent time talking to the teens about the more "taboo" issues.  They opened the door for God to speak through them.  They opened their mouths and let God's words flow through them by using their stories to impact the lives of hundreds of Moldovan teenagers. We talked about our experiences and got real with the teens, helping them to understand the importance of healthy relationships and what those look like, violence and dreams and goals.  It was an incredibly special opportunity for us to partake in.

Three more of our girls got to spend time with the single mother support group that is a part of the Beginning of Life organization.  They taught them how to make felt pin flowers and t-shirt necklaces/ headbands. They got to spend time and attention on some of the needy and hopeless women in Moldova.

Tonight we met with the Grace House again.  A few of us shared our testimonies with the girls in the house.  God moved in big ways, showing us that he is alive all around the world.

Although we don't speak their language, we are confident in the power of the Lord that lives in us.  We are confident in his power and that he speaks through us, despite the language barrier. We serve an incredibly faithful father who blesses all that we do.  He encourages our dreams and sets us free of our past.  In Him we are new. 

Today in a word: Overwhelming

Today was anything but a typical day in Moldova; yet today was an incredibly special day for our team.  We were overwhelmed by a wealth of knowledge and information followed by a list of tasks to complete.  Needless to say, we were a smidge overwhelmed.

Today we learned all about the Beginning of Life organization, where we will be working for the rest of the trip.  Before we left the States we had a pretty good idea about the overall mission of the organization, little did we know, there are MANY aspects about the organization that we had no clue about.  We didn't know about the emotion and the passion the staff had for their people; we didn't know about the many services Beginning of Life provides; we didn't know the extent of work that they accomplish.  So, the first part of the day we got to know the in's and out's of the organization.  The staff, wanting us to be fully understanding of the greater aspects of their work, detailed everything for us.  It was a wealth of information, but it was all information that makes working for them so much more meaningful.  We walked away from the meeting sharing a connection and passion for their ministry.  We were able to empathize with their stories and their ministry as a whole.  Here is a summary of what we learned:

• It is the fruit of persistent prayer.
• Has a school department that focuses on prevention and a rehabilitation program that focuses on the victims of trafficking.
• School department
• They go into the schools to teach trafficking prevention as well as teaching other life values.
• Although they are a Christian organization, they are not able to speak openly about God in the schools, but they provide other outlets like clubs and support groups where they are able to talk about God.
• They teach kids to dream and to believe in Moldova.
• They also teach kids how to live simply and not to want as many material possessions, so that they can live accordingly to their income.
• Escape is the magazine that they distribute to different schools and areas in Moldova as well as a few to the UK, Isreal, Germany and the Ukraine. 
• Escape talks about the myths of violence in the home (in Moldova they have a saying, "an unbeaten wife is like an unclean house," Beginning of Life shows the fallacy in that saying), trafficking, alcohol, differences between guys and girls, the art of communication, sexuality, etc.
• They have produced 12 editions and 48,000 copies of the magazine.
• To get involved you can send in articles to be used in the magazine or even adopt a student, school or region that can receive the magazine. 
• The school programs along with Escape helps children to begin asking the larger questions in life and to build dreams to envision a better life for themselves in Moldova.

• Rehabilitation program
• They have a support group for young mothers who have been trafficked, sexually exploited and/or abused.
• They try to create a holistic environment focusing on the physical, psychological, social, spiritual and mental aspects of the women. 
• They currently have 6 girls living in the rehabilitation house that holds up to 9. 
• The girls are directed to the house by a plethora of sources (government agencies, churches, authorities, etc.).
• They encourage schooling and offer prayer meetings.  A motto they believe in states, "if you don't want to pray, we will pray for you." 
• Recently, they have been creating different hand made crafts that they are selling to make an income. They sell dolls, purses, small artwork, beaded decorative trees and much more!
• Trafficking in Moldova
• 90% of those trafficked in Europe come out of Moldova and Romania (Moldova is only the size of Maryland)
• In the last 20 years (the entire history of Moldova) 350,000 people have been victims of trafficking.  Of those, 47,000 are under 18.
• 30,000 people just disappeared.
• 50,000 people per year travel abroad to work. (Parents going to work in another country to work and sending money back to Moldova is an epidemic here.  In total, the minimum number of people who work abroad is 750,000 people, a third of the country's population.  Because of this statistic, enticing victims with promises of a well paying job in another country is very common.)
• Of people trafficked out of Moldova: 70-80% are in prostitution; 13% are in labor; 5-8% are in begging. 

This is an incredible mission in Moldova that is completely run by Moldovan people.  The Beginning of Life is the pride, promise and future of Moldova. Hearing the staff talk about what they do was a breath of fresh air even in compared to what our lives as American's.  It is evident that they fully rely on the strength of God in everything they do.  They are the hands and feet of Christ throughout the country to a poor and desolate population; they are the embodiment of the church.  The founder of Beginning of Life kept saying, "Dream, don't be afraid.  We are just tools in God's hands, he will do what he wants to do in your life."  Words of encouragement were found in every staff member.  We are so thankful to be working with such a unique organization.

The second half of the day was spent planning and then Kelsey, Heather and Alex got a chance to teach the 6 women of the rehabilitation center how to make magazine necklaces and paper mache bowls.  Although they were without an authentic translator (the translator had only been speaking English for 4 months, so she wasn't very good) they communicated through love and friendship with women who have never had hope.  After about an hour with our girls, the women in the rehab center began opening up with our team members, craving their voices to listen to; craving their love and attention that is a product of the love of our Lord.  Their dream is to be loved and respected, but our dream is that they will be given hope in who they are and in their worth as women. Oh, and that they are able to make lots of money off of the crafts that we were able to teach them!

Today was an incredible day and we can't wait for the rest of the week to work with such an amazing organization!

Praise be to God! Let us be your servants.

Welcome to Moldova!

After a long flight and much traveling, we made it to Moldova. 

The first few days, we were in a smaller town called Balti about 2 hours outside of Chisanau.

The first work day, (Friday- after the traveling we arrived in Balti in time for dinner Thursday and went to bed)  we worked with a Women's Center (Sotis) there in Belti (Bel-t-z).  Before lunch we had an orientation with the director from the center.  She told us all about the center's purpose and the history.  Sotis is a refuge for women who have been abused in the families or who have been trafficked.

• About 60% of the women served were at some point trafficked or are at risk of becoming trafficked.
• They can hold up to 19 women (including any children of the women)
• Currently they are housing 14. 8 of them are adults and the rest are their children.
• Every woman stays at least 30 days (paid for by the government) and can stay 3, 6, or 12 months. 
• Women who stay longer are typically young mothers or trafficking victims.

• Sortis is the only center of this kind sponsored by the governement. 
• Services are free.
• They also partner with other organizations to provide more services to the women. 
• Currently they are receiving a grant funded through the UN and Orange Mobil to provide professional schooling and jobs.

After we learned all about Sortis, we had lunch at a local restaurant and then came back after lunch to work with the women of Sortis.  We made different crafts for them and helped them to  make scarves, button bracelets and magazine necklaces (pictures will hopefully come soon, but no promises).

Friday night we went to the local park and rode some rides in the park.  It was so much fun! We rode a huge rickety ferris wheel and viking swings.

On Saturday we had a really special day!  We went to the same park but this time we rode the public bus and met 56 kids from an orphanage. Luckily they brought 6 teachers and staff members from the orphanage (Tsaregrad).  These kids are from a VERY small town a little big away from Balti.  For most of these kids and adults it was their first trip into a city. Tsaregrad is one of the same orphanages that our team visited last year, but since then they have had no other visitors.  It was really fun when we first saw the kids because some of the kids recognized our returning team members. It was so joyful for the kids!  They got to ride the ferris wheel, a small roller coaster and a swing ride.  The kids absolutely LOVED it all! After the rides we went to a pizza place.  Again, this was the first time that both the kids and the adults had ever had Mountain Dew and pizza.  They actually liked it!  After lunch we went back to the park and played tons of games and did some crafts. We were worn out by the end of the day and so were the kids.  They ended up falling asleep on the way back to the orphanage.

On Sunday we made a special trip out to Caprini where we went to church.  It was so special that we got to visit that church.  It was a beautiful church that is small and a wonderful evangelical church. After church we went back to Balti and had lunch then went to another smaller town where we met the Beginning of Life people. In that town we helped work a festival for the local townspeople.  While at the festival, we blew up balloons, had stickers to give out, made THOUSANDS of bracelets, and painted THOUSANDS of faces. The people from the town LOVED it. The Beginning of Life people threw an awesome party.  They provided a stage and huge speakers for music, and had bounce houses, a trampoline, and bars for a gymnast, then they had a fashion show!  It was really fun to see the different ways that the town celebrated.

Today, we went back to work with the Women's Center.  However, in the same block, there are several different centers. This morning half of us got to work with children with mental illnesses and the other half  of us worked with older people with mental illnesses. Working with people with mental illnesses was very hard, but we had a lot of fun. We helped them make bracelets and danced with the older people. They even taught us a traditional Moldovan dance.  After lunch we went back to the same area of centers and half of us worked with the Women's Center again while the other half worked with the Homeless Youth Center. At the Women's Center we taught them how to make headbands that they can sell at the market.  We also got to teach the staff how to make the headbands and magazine necklaces so they can help teach the women as well.  It was an amazing day. 

We have finally arrived in Chisanau, home sweet home. From here on out we will have internet, so continue looking for updates.  Sorry this one is so long.  The others won't be as long.  Also, please tell all your friends to watch our blog. 

Love from Moldova.

 

We are here!

Thanks for being patient! We are in Moldova.  Everything has been going incredibly well since we arrived, but we have been in a city without internet access.  We just arrived in the capital, Chisanau, where we will be staying the rest of the time.  I will update the blog from here on out, but until then, it is dinner time!  Thank you for all of your prayers, love and support. 

We are safe and sound!

A new year; a new team

Friends and family,

Welcome back! 2012 has finally greeted us!  As the new year has settled in, so has our planning for this year's Moldova team and for the trip.  As of today are exactly 14 weeks away from our departure for Moldova.  Our team has been set and we have even had our first meetings.  April and I are excited about this new team and this year's trip to Moldova.  We have been working tirelessly over the past year to fine tune the 2012 mission and to begin scheduling our time in Moldova.

What to expect this year:

• May 9- May 24.  
• We will again be staying in the capital city of Chisinau, Moldova.  
• We will again be working with JMI and while in country we will be spending quality time with the girls from Grace House. 
• This year we will also be working with a new organization in Moldova called Beginning of Life.  Beginning of Life will give us several new opportunities and more connection to women who have been a victim of human trafficking, as well as participating in prevention programs in the public school system.
• These are just a few of the initiatives that we will be involved in this year.

God has blessed our team in incredible ways already and we cannot wait to see what else God has in store for us.  Please feel free to look around the site, everything has been updated to reflect this year's mission trip.  Please also feel free to share our blog with any friends and family.  Fianlly, we would also love to have your prayers for our team, the women in Moldova and our trip in general.

Thank you so much for your continued love and support.

The end has come

I can't believe that it is the last day that we are in Moldova.  Today has been one of the best days; I realize that same phrase was said about yesterday, so maybe it is just the love that has been shared all culminating to this point.  Today has been a celebration day for our team.  We are celebrating the work that has been done this week, but more than that we are celebrating the work that is being done here in Moldova.  This is an incredible country with a beautiful hope.  As one of our team members put it, Moldova is a masterpiece in progress.  We are celebrating what has happened.  Today we have spent a lot of time reflecting on what we have done this week and what we have encountered.  We have been using this day to soak in the best of Moldova.  Tonight we will celebrate with the whole JMI team, Boys 2 Leaders guys and Grace House girls over a traditional Moldovan meal.  But I can't ignore the celebration that has been taking place before what will happen tonight.  I also can't put into words what we have experienced better than what our JMI team leader, Brian, has crafted in his blog.  Therefore, I want to share what he said.

God came near. Well, it happened. We didn’t feel it when it happened, or else we would have exploded. But that tug you just felt was the hem of Jesus’ garment leaving your fingertips. That shove was the hand of God hiding you in the cleft of the rock as He passed by. Perhaps it was the litle girl in the green dress at the orphanage…perhaps the monk who lives in and tends the altar fire of a 600-year-old cave chapel. Perhaps it was the breakthrough of the Holy Spirit in one of our team-sisters.

Our devotional this morning brought it all home. A Lipscomb student from a religious background opened with saying “well, I was stuck. I felt different from the rest of you. I’ve never experienced this kind of community. I’ve never felt the scriptures actually ‘speak’ to me. So I stayed up all night reading and praying and asking God to move my heart.”

God comes near…not because we came across the ocean to work with orphans and vulnerable women. But because we have lived in community for a week. We have served with all our energy from breakfast till dinner. We have played and laughed and cried till late into the night.

Jesus came to establish His Kingdom on earth. He did it by gathering a diverse group of friends, by living in community with them, by serving tirelessly, and by hanging out out on the shores of the lake nightly around the fire. The unwritten parts of the timeline of the ministry of Jesus are myriad. Those are the times that you tap into on a mission trip.

This is the core spirituality that Jesus came to teach us to walk in. It doesn’t take coming on a mission trip. It can be accessed locally if you seek it first. But sometimes it takes the ‘retreat’ event for God to break through. Be assured…God will come near. Avail yourself to God in a local ministry or through a mission trip and you will surely fell the hem of Jesus’ garment slip through your fingertips.

God has blessed us all by being here.  Throughout today I have had the opportunity to have several conversations with people and realize how purposful this trip has been.  Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement; your love and companionship.  You have all helped influence us and have therefore blessed Moldova.  See you state-side. 

Tuesday

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  The weather was very hot, but we survived.  In the morning we went to a small village about an hour away from Chisinau.  Only about 400 people live in this small community and they are pretty much the poorest of the poor.  It was jaw dropping to walk into their community.  It looked like a third-world country; being out in the countryside, on dirt roads, it reminded me of being in remote places in Mexico.  We met with the pastor of the local church and he told us the story of how he and his wife began their church.  At the start of their ministry they endured persecution from the Orthodox church and priest.  At one point they even wanted to burn down the church.  Unlike other churches, this small church only has a few people that show up at the meeting times.  Sometimes they don't even have anyone show up, but the minister and his wife always meet and pray for the village or visit the neighbors.  While we were there we helped with food ministry.  We passed out 12 different food bags to different people in the village.  They all contained non-perishable food items such as: sugar, rice, flour, tea, oil, etc.  All of the people welcomed us into their small, dirty homes and were very grateful for the supplies.  They told us their different stories and let us pray over all of them.  Several of them asked us to pray for rain for their farms.  The dirt was very dry and their gardens are what provides them with their food for the year, so they were in desperate need of the rain.

After we delivered food we got to visit the art market again.  Then we got to meet one of the Moldovan members of Parliament!  This was such an honorable experience. When talking to the member, Valeriu Ghiletchi, we found out that he has two sons who go to Belmont! It is such a small world!  We met with Valeriu in a meeting room and got to ask him all the questions we wanted to.  He told us all about the Moldovan political fiasco.  It was astounding to find out about the Moldovan politics and government.  Moldova has currently been without a president for 2 years; it sits in the midst of a political gridlock with 46 Communist members and 54 Democratic members of Parliament.  Because of this difference, the democratic members cannot vote to have a President elected because they don't have two-thirds of the Parliament vote.  In the last two years Moldova has had 3 Parliamentary elections in an effort to try and change the system but to no avail.  The brokenness left from the Soviet influence is devastating in this country.  It was fascinating to find out about the way the history has formed the current situation.  We also found out a lot about the lack of economy here in Moldova, and how the country desires to be in the EU.  I loved being able to meet with him and find out more about Moldova.  It was also intriguing because Valeriu is one of three evangelical members of Parliament.

After meeting with him we had the night with the Grace House girls.  Last night was by far my favorite night until this point.  We set up a spa for the girls complete with feet washing, manicures and pedicures, massages and face masks.  At first the girls were hesitant to let us wash their feet.  They felt really uncomfortable, but after some encouragement they jumped right in.  It was so much fun to be able to serve them in such a unique way.  By the end of the night they kept telling us about how they felt like princesses.  We also got to serve Elena (Grace House psychologist and house Mom) and our cook for the week, Orica.  Both of these women loved the salon treatment.  As the girls finished their spa nights we had goodie bags for them to take home and we just got to sit around and talk to the girls.

It has been such a blessing to be here and celebrate God's love with these women.  They have been such an encouragement and inspiration.

Without words

"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." -Colossians 1:6

Brothers and sisters,
I write to you today with encouragement.  Today we saw the beauty of Moldova's brokenness.  Throughout this week we have constantly been reminded of what a broken country Moldova is.  A young country and former Soviet property, Moldova gained independence in 1991.  Since then the country has been in turbulence.  The Communist party still remains one of the most popular parties and the economy is horrible.  The government does not produce any jobs and is therefore broke, so Moldovan people must find work in other countries to send back from to their families.  This creates broken homes and families, not to mention being detrimental to the economy of Moldova.  The small country (only the size of Maryland) has the largest human trafficking problems in Eastern Europe; women are often beaten in the household.  They have an unbelievable amount of orphans (due to the lack of economy and because so many parents travel abroad to work) and they all want out of Moldova.  In a nutshell, that is Moldova.  However, this week we have seen glimpses of the beauty within all the brokenness- today specifically, but more on that later.

Throughout this trip our team has truly become best friends.  We are constantly laughing, sharing wisdom, speaking truth, singing and loving each other.  I mentioned last time that we are the 12 best friends that anyone could have and that is the truth!  It has been more than a God-sent blessing to be able to fellowship and serve with my sisters.  These ladies (and Uncle Brian, of course) are radiating God's beauty and teaching me about God's continual love, grace, service, strength and endurance.  Never have I been with so many beautiful girls and been able to stand it for such an extended amount of time.  I truly thank God for all of them daily.  As I mentioned we have fun with each other and one thing that we have loved doing has been singing with each other.  Since we have loved singing with each other (and making Brian, Borris, and the our other traveling companions endure all of our singing on the bus) we have noticed that we don't sound half bad.  We have also dubbed ourselves as the Vontrapp's.  Today the Vontrapp family singers busted out another concert.  Our manager, Brian, and groupie, Borris, asked us to sing some songs while in the Orthodox monastery that we visited.  This monastery was built in 1429 and is gorgeous.  The interior is stunning with traditional icons covering every part.  Towards the front of the small cathedral the ceilings jutted upward into a dome-like ceiling to showcase Christ the pantocrotor.  This architectural design creates a stunning acoustic atmosphere.  Standing at the front of this Orthodox cathedral, the Vontrapp family singers began our set list with Holy, Holy, Holy.  It was honestly one of the holiest experiences I have had; the walls echoed our harmonies, as our predominantly Church of Christ background team members belted out the hymnal.  We busted out a few more songs and ended up gathering a small audience before moving up to the balcony to sing a couple more.  The sound was chillingly beautiful.

After visiting the monastery we ate at a Piccadilly-esque Moldovan place called Yellow Box.  It was about like Piccadilly.  We then visited Beginning of Life.  Beginning of Life is an organization here in Moldova that is God's hands and feet.  It is a beautiful and powerful ministry.  In a culture where women are treated as less superior, the Beginning of Life is the product of one woman's dream.  Beginning of Life has a lot of ministries for several different things.  They started as a program that helped women who were wanting abortions to seek other ways of help- they informed women of their options, as well as telling them about what abortion actually is.  The ministry then began morphing into a rehabilitation program for women who have been abused.  Since then the ministry has adopted programs for schools and for children to learn about life.  But the program that we were the most interested in was in their rehabilitation program for women who have been trafficked.  Our entire team was able to meet with three of the staff members as they told us all about their ministry.  They informed us of their preventative measures through school lectures and summer camps that kids attend.  They also enlightened us with some of their hopes and dreams for the program (more staff members, more consistent sponsors, bigger facilities, etc.).  However, the biggest aspect of their program is the in-house rehabilitation that they offer.  Due to building size they are only able to have 8 women living in the center at a time, but they also have an off-site program that helps them reintegrate into society.  In the in-house rehab the women have three counselors that are working 24/7 to provide help and security for these women.  Talking to the lady who came up with the Beginning of Life was moving.  Hearing her passion and story for how she envisioned the program and how she, like us, wanted to be able to empower the women of Moldova, and she wants to help them.  I know that these simple words don't give the organization the credit that it deserves, but I can honestly say that I felt the Spirit of God alive and moving in that place.  After we talked and prayed over the staff a few of us were able to visit the rehab house.  We got to see their prayer room and where the girls lived.  We also got to meet some of the women who were living there.  Before going inside I was prepared to walk into a place where the women were obviously hurting; I envisioned them to almost look like the girls in the movie Taken.  But, alas, I was wrong.  Immediately when we walked into the house we were greeted by two girls who were overflowing with joy; you could see it coming out of their eyes.  Their smiles were pure.  They were excited to meet us and show us their home.  Later we did meet a few other women that were not as joyful as the first two, but they were all grateful to meet us and showed us sincere smiles.  We got to pray blessings over the girls and tell them how much we love them and want to help them.  It was an experience like non other.

Tonight we had a gathering with the Boys2Leaders and the Grace House girls.  We started off the night worshipping; half of us sang in English while the other half sang in Romanian.  At one point they gave us some lyrics and we all got to sing in Romanian.  The rest of the night some people sat around and sang/played guitar while the other half of us played.  We started off by playing a simple game of volleyball.  By the end of the night we were playing keep-away Moldovans vs. Americans.  It was so much fun!  We played for hours, but finally had to stop when it was getting too dark to see the ball.  Through this simple game we got to bond with the girls in a very different way.

I am thankful for God's plan that has allowed us to experience Moldova and the life here.  We are all sad that we only have three more days in this wonderful place.

Sunday in the sun

Pace (peace to believers).

Today has been a gift from God.  We started very early this morning with a breakfast at our team house in Belti.  It was our last day to be away from Chisinau.  After breakfast we drove about an hour to a church in a very small town.  The church was wonderful.  They were so grateful to have us, and we could not be more delighted to be there.  At church we were given seats of honor.  Another American mission team was also visiting the church.  They took on the responsibility of leading some of our worship.  It was a neat experience because we got to have bilingual worship.  Several of the songs we sang were songs that the church knew in Romanian as well.  As we sang, both in Romanian and English, I couldn't help but think about how much of a joy and blessing it was to be celebrating the love and salvation of Christ with people across the world. It was beautiful to be in God's presence with people across the world from where I normally am and to know that they are truly in love with God.  Several times I noticed our whole team taking in the beauty of the service.  I also got to introduce our team to the congregation and to send blessings to them from Lipscomb University.  I also got to thank them for their hospitality and service to the country.  They then wanted us to sing a song to them, so our whole team got up in front of the congregation and sang A Shield About Me a cappella style.  In a culture that is known for never smiling, as we sang to our brothers and our sisters all we could see were beautiful smiles staring back at us.  They loved hearing our voices and hearing us rejoice.  After church we were invited to the preacher's apartment for a home cooked Moldovan meal.  We actually found out after we arrived there that the pastor didn't know we were going to be there, so when he got to church he called his wife to tell her to prepare a meal for another mission team that was visiting.  So all during church she cooked all 15 of us a traditional, delicious meal.

After lunch we visited our last orphanage to deliver a wheel chair to a little girl who had to constantly be carried around.  She was ecstatic to receive her wheel chair.  All the kids loved it.  I played a few little hand games with our new little friends, and then we left right as the rain was beginning to come down.  We spent the rest of the day driving back to Chisinau.  There was one point when I woke up from trying to take a nap and just became angry at the roads because they were so bumpy.  It was crazy.  Driving through those roads reminded me a lot of when we were trying to drive to the Czech Republic and were just bumping all around.  But we finally made it back.

Tonight we spent some more time with the Grace House girls.  We all sat around and made bracelets and ate some delicious ice cream and just listened to music together.  We just got to be girls together and it was so nice!  We adore all the girls.

Check out the new photo gallery!

Saturday

Saturday we got to go to a different orphanage near Belti.  This orphanage was much smaller and the kids were precious.  Before going to this orphanage we got to go to METRO (like COSTCO) and bought a bunch of games and toys for the kids.  We played the entire day with the kids.  Some of us played volleyball while others played soccer and others played tag or made bracelets.  Much like last time other people interviewed the kids at this orphanage.   These kids were absolutely precious.  They loved playing with us and we loved playing and laughing with them.  Being out in such a small village was really different.  These kids were starving for our attention and love.  It was heartbreaking to see them wanting so badly for us to love on them and play with them.  Many of these kids had developmental problems and some could hardly read or write.  It was a very different experience than compared to the other kids we have visited. 

The night was very different as well.  We simply got to spend good quality time with each other.  It is just such a blessing to be surrounded by beautiful women of God that are capable of speaking truth into your life.  I am thankful for the team that surrounds and uplifts me.  We truly are the 12 best friends that anyone could have!  I thank God for these women of God who have joined me in a mission to empower the women of Moldova and are willing to humble themselves to serve one another.  

Thursday: To Belti and Beyond

Thursday we traveled to Belti.  It is about 2 hours North of Chisinau.  It is another town here in Moldova where JMI has a few orphanages.  After arriving in Belti our team set out for our first true adventure in a Moldovan orphanage.  We got off the bus at the small, country orphanage and immediately began playing with the kids.  This orphanage is my favorite one that we have visited.  It is ran by a woman who is really sweet and caring.  When we arrived to the orphanage I was invited to go into the office to meet the director with Brian and Alina.  It was a huge honor for me to be able to go with them.  While in the meeting with the director we learned about this orphanage.  It had about 170 kids.  Unlike many of the other orphanages it provided psychological and physical health help.  Many of the children here had some kind of mental disorders or would be what we considered ADD or ADHD.  Several of them came from families from alcoholics and had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or came from families with drug problems.  It was heartbreaking to see these kids and some of their disabilities that were obviously psychological.  Some had problems with bladder control, yet they were all from about 6-13 years-old.  Despite some of these difficulties, we had a blast playing with the kids.  While some of us played with the kids, others began interviewing some of the kids who don’t have sponsors from other organizations.  This orphanage is one that JMI is beginning a relationship with so that they can offer some people in the U.S. the ability to sponsor and build relationships with these kids.  To make this happen some kids needed to be interviewed so we would know a little bit about them.  The ones of us that got to play played hard.  We played a lot of volleyball/soccer (not both individually, but a game that mixed both sports).  We also got to sing songs and play some catch and other games with some of the other kids.  There was one kid who was one of my favorites.  He was absolutely precious.  He was just a little boy, maybe 8 or 9 years-old.  He had the most beautiful blue eyes and precious smile.  His name was Victor and he was very shy; he hardly spoke but was beautiful.  Later I found out that he had been at the orphanage longer than he could remember and that he didn’t even know his birthday.  Those kind of stories make up the Moldovan orphanages. 

            When we came back from the orphanage we had a delicious dinner (Moldova food is GREAT!) and went out with Andres (a Moldovan boy who is 21 and speaks perfect English) and some of his friends to a carnival type park.  The park was so much fun!  It reminded me a lot of the Prater in Vienna.  At the park we rode one of those huge swing rides.  As we were riding we noticed that all kinds of Moldovan people were gathering below us watching and even videoing the ridiculous Americans; we were having a blast, though.  The next ride we rode was really fun.  I sat next to Brian and got an ab workout from laughing so hard; again people were watching us and laughing at us riding the rides.  After those two rides we transitioned to another park close by that had some more rides.  On our way we saw some of the Moldovan national soccer team players.  Some of the girls got a picture with them later (they didn’t actually like it very much… ha!).  At that park we rode a really rickety ferris wheel.  I got a little scared riding it.  Then we rode this centrifugal ride that uses centrifugal motion and G-forces to push you against a wall.  It was really fun and we all felt like astronauts, but after the ride we were all a little nauseous.  Again, we laughed the entire time.  The whole day was so much fun.  It was different, but we loved it.  

Wednesday in Chisinau

Wednesday was an incredible day for our team in Chisinau.  In the morning we simply went all around the city running some errands.  We also got to visit our first orphanage.  Internat 2 was the first orphanage that JMI partnered with.  Instead of being strictly an orphanage it is more like a boarding house where some of the kids are orphans.  Visiting Internat was eye opening.  While there the kids were a little standoffish and bashful.  A few of them came to us to talk, but most kept their distance as we were waiting while Brian and Alina talked to the director of the orphanage.  However, we did have Elijah and Antonina there with us that helped us to communicate with the few kids that were gathered around. 

            Elijah is a 17 year-old Moldavian boy that grew up at Internat.  He is currently sponsored by an American family and is in the Boys to Leaders program (boys component of the Grace House created by JMI).  He is completely fluent in English and has had the chance to visit America once before.  Eli is hilarious and has caught on to American sarcastic humor.  He loves photography and is very talented.  Through talking with him we learned that he is also studying Bible in school.  It was amazing to watch him interact with all the kids at Internat.  Because he grew up there you could tell that he was a big deal and role model to the kids.

            Antonina is amazing.  She is studying foreign languages and wants to eventually be able to teach foreign languages.  She is already fluent in Romanian, Russian, English and Spanish.  Her sweet heart is evident through her continual joy and smile.  She is only 22 and is absolutely beautiful.  Antonina is incredible.  During her off time she helps translate for JMI; she is in charge of translating all the sponsor/orphan letters, as well as helping whenever a mission team is in the country.  We all fell in love with sweet Antonina and her loving and fun spirit.

            We also got to tour Internat.  That is eye opening for sure.  The place was pretty gross to be honest.  Most of the campus smelled like urine.  The halls were dark and cold, yet, the classrooms were warm and damp.  While on our tour it was crazy to watch the chaos in the school.  Kids would come and go from classrooms as they pleased.  It hurt my heart to see the kind of conditions that the children lived and grew up in. 

            After the orphanage we got to visit with the Owens family.  The Owens are an American missionary family that have lived in Moldova for 8 years.  It was fun to find out that the husband, Jeff Owens, was originally from Johnson City (only 20 min. away from where I am from).  The heart of this family is incredible.  As mentioned before they have lived in Moldova as missionaries for the past eight years with their daughter, Paulina.  Their ministry is a church-planting ministry where they empower Moldavians to build evangelical churches within their country.  Hearing their testimonies was great for our team.  They told us the truth about Moldovan churches and the conflict that exists between the evangelical Moldovan churches and the Russian Orthodox churches in Moldova.  Their ministry encourages and influences peace between the two churches and encourages grace.  Mr. and Mrs. Owens helped us to understand the general culture and shared with us some of the encounters they have had with the Moldovan people.  They also told us how the church in Moldova wants its people to be perfect before being involved in the church; a concept that horrified me.  It was a blessing for us to be welcomed into their home and to be able to learn about their experiences.

            Later that night we got to do some more of our ministry.  We celebrated our stories with the Grace House girls.  I can’t even begin to explain how powerful this night was.  It was humbling for me to sit and hear some of our team’s testimonies and watch the girls receive us and our hearts.  We started the night by having Olivia, Jill, Lexi and Amy Mc. giving their testimonies.  I have seen people share their testimonies several times before, but nothing has been quite as holy as this experience.  Watching our girls humble themselves and become completely vulnerable to everyone was beautiful.  We were able to mourn and rejoice with our sisters and their stories.  It was truly holy to sit back and watch our girls be transparent then to see their English transparency be translated to Romanian transparency and then to see the Grace House girls receive so openly the brokenness of some of us American girls.  Antonita was translating for us and there was even one point during the night were she began to cry as she was translating; she said that it was hurting her because she could relate to our stories.  The simple beauty of being vulnerable before one another is comparable to non other.  At the end of our testimonies the Grace House girls graciously thanked us.  They were obviously moved and let us know it.  At one point one of the girls from the house said just how important it was for us to share so openly.  She said that they had always imagined that they were the only ones with problems so severe; they had an image of Americans as always smiling and living a luxurious life; that Moldova was as low as they could go.  After hearing our testimonies they understood the fallacy in those perceptions; they saw how broken we are.  Another girl, Alina told us that she thinks that God brought us here to share our testimonies with them.  This simple thought brought tears to my eyes.  It was the fist real night that we got to spend with them and they already felt like God brought us to them.  I was/am amazed by their love and devotion to each other and God.  After we shared and had our sappy moments the Grace House girls’ love languages were prevalent.  We were able to laugh and play together.  We spent the rest of the night making some pretty sweet t-shirt headbands.  Before we left we got to have another holy moment.  Throughout the night we had all been joking around and silly singing.  The girls had heard us and wanted to hear us really sing.  Jabesk, one of the GH girls brought down her guitar and we had Amy Mc. lead us in a few songs.  We started out by singing some American Christian songs.  But a few songs in we got to all sing together.  We found out that the GH girls knew the song Here I Am to Worship.  We started by the Americans singing a verse then let them sing a verse in Romanian as we sat and listened then finished by both singing.  There is hardly anything more beautiful than multi-lingual worship. Their beautiful Romanian voices filled my heart with joy.

            The trip has just started and our love is constantly growing and building.  I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for us.